Land is a resource that the state transfers to communities so that they could plan the development, says Aliona Babak

Land should be a resource for the development of regions and communities. It’s because all spatial planning, new construction and investment activities are primarily connected with land. And if communities have the right to dispose of land only within the boundaries of the settlements, it is a rather constraining factor hampering their smooth development.

The Minister for Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine Aliona Babak said participating in the program Svoboda Vyboru (Freedom of Choice) with the Hromadske Radio.

According to her, the Government treats a land reform as a resource that the state initially transfers to communities. And aftermath the community decides how to use that.

“For me, the issue of the land market is first and foremost a step made by the state to transfer land to the level of communities so that they could plan their development and set priorities. Whether it will really be agricultural development or someone will start construction activities on such non-agricultural land. But in one way or another, the vision of the incumbent Government and decentralization experts is as follows: the territory of Ukraine should look like an area where one community shares borders with another and follows the so-called ubiquity principle: community to community.

And all investment flows, economic development starts from the bottom, from the vision of each particular community of its development prospects. Therefore, land is a major resource. If we do not do this, I cannot see any development at all,” Aliona Babak said.