Today, the Agrarian Committee of the Verkhovna Rada supported in the second reading and recommended to the parliament to adopt the bill №2194, which, among other things, completes land decentralization in Ukraine - state-owned agricultural lands outside settlements are transferred to communities.

Deputies supported a number of amendments that were developed by the experts from the UAC analytical center “Smart Country” and the “USAID Agricultural and Rural Development Program – AGRO” and submitted by People’s Deputy Oleh Tarasov. Such amendments stop further speculation on the draft law, as previously observed.

The UAC emphasizes that communities have been waiting for a long time for the return of agricultural lands outside settlements to communal ownership. Only in this way, they will be able to make real the opportunity to plan independently the development of their territories in their own interests with the participation of local businesses and the public.

The bill №2194 inter alia provides:

• resolving the issue of land ownership, simplifying access to land resources for the people, business through the abolition of unnecessary permits and duplication of procedures for verification of land management documentation;
• providing information on land management documentation of the status of public, open and publicly available data;
• reduction of the cost of works and duration of time spent on the implementation of procedures related to land management;
• borders establishment between the communities’ territories by communities’ agreements;
• approval by local councils of the territory detailed plans within and outside the settlements;
• opportunity to publicly monitor the fate of the land from the moment of granting permission for its allocation;
• land plots consolidation with the consent of their landowners without unnecessary bureaucracy, etc.

❗️We call on to submit this bill for the consideration to the parliament as soon as possible, and deputies to support it in the second reading.