OREANDA-NEWS. February 6, 2012. The president shall be the only authority to give the green light to converting farmland into housing or industrial estate, according to the latest amendment to the Land Code of Belarus.

The bill with amendments to the Land Code has been forwarded for approval to the Lower Chamber of Belarus’ Parliament.

As previously reported, President Lukashenko deems it necessary to reintroduce the president’s exclusive right to distribute farmland. Lukashenko believes the president should be the only authority to take decisions on farmland withdrawal and allocation of agricultural lands for construction purposes.

The bill was made in the spirit of the guidelines voiced by Lukashenko at a special conference October 18 focused on allocation of land plots and distribution of farmland.