The process of land transfer to the communal ownership of amalgamated hromadas, initiated by the Government of Ukraine, should be completed by the end of 2018, with the first land transfers to be held in February-March due to the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers, stated Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman during a special meeting devoted to land issues.

“We are beginning to move on this issue. We do not need amendments to the law; Government's decision is enough to transfer the land to the ownership of AHs. Hromadas will own the land, dispose of it freely, and nobody will interfere with it,” said Volodymyr Groysman.

The proposed mechanism of land transfer is as transparent as possible and takes into account several steps: the appeal to the territorial office of the State Service of Ukraine for Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre (StateGeoCadastre) with a statement on the transfer of land, land inventory, decision-making and registration of ownership rights in the institution of justice. Moreover, according to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, most of the land is already invented, but if necessary, additional inventory will be carried out as quickly as possible.

Coordination of all actions will be specified in the memorandum, which will be signed by the AH governing bodies and the bodies of the StateGeoCadastre. The signing of the documents will begin this week. The Association of Amalgamated Hromadas and Association of Ukrainian Cities will assist in this work on the proposal of the Government.

“We will monitor the implementation (of memorandums). If we see that someone is impeding – we will dismiss (such officials) from work,” stressed Volodymyr Groysman. “The first results of the process must be summed up in three weeks.”

The Head of Government drew attention to the fact that there are currently about 700 AHs in Ukraine. “By the end of 2018 all land should be transferred. This will be the proper transfer of land to the ownership. We are ready to financially assist hromadas in land allocation projects,” said the Prime Minister.

Reference

At the end of January, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine agreed on the mechanisms for the transfer of ownership of land to amalgamated hromadas, including the land outside settlements. The corresponding decision was approved with the assistance of Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman and provides for the preparation of relevant government orders to the StateGeoCadastre. According to the decision of the Government, from February hromadas will be able to plan their territories. Moreover, the structures of the StateGeoCadastre have already been deprived of the right to take decisions on the disposal of land outside settlements unilaterally without the consent of amalgamated hromadas.