State control of land use

An audit conducted by the National Audit Office showed that state control of land use in Lithuania does not always ensure the rational use of land and the efficient implementation of the legislation on land use. Unfortunately, the establishment of priorities of state control of land use does not always take into account the long-standing land use issues that are of concern to the public.

Despite the fact that a number of land use problems, such as free access to water or land use in the sensitive Baltic coastal area, have been persisting for many years, they are still not properly addressed. Neither the Ministry of Agriculture, which shapes the policy of state control of land use, nor the National Land Service (NLS), which is responsible for organising and exercising the control, have taken any necessary steps.

Due attention to state control of land use has not been given in the particularly valuable, yet ecologically sensitive, Baltic coastal area. It was back in 2007 that the National Audit Office stated that there are about a thousand holiday cottages in Šventoji settlement whose status has not been specified in legislation. Seven years after the said audit, it was found that the majority of the holiday cottages were in a very poor condition, physically and morally outdated, they pollute valuable Baltic coastal areas and spoil the landscape. The personal hygiene needs of holidaymakers staying in these cottages have been solved in a primitive manner, resulting in pollution of soil with wastewater, which poses a risk to human health and the natural environment as a whole. Also, the green lawn near the cottages is destroyed by cars parked thereon.

215 cottages included in the Real Property Register stand on state land parcels which have not been properly created, and land lease agreements have not been made with the parcel owners. Another 170 holiday cottage have not even been entered in this Register. If a land parcel has not been created, no land use conditions are set for the parcel and so the owners of holiday cottages may not know what activities are allowed on such land and what is of special importance in this exclusive area.

For these reasons, the status of ecologically sensitive recreational areas has been declining. However, Palanga territorial division of the National Land Service has been slow in inspecting the use of state land on which the cottages stand and has not taken the necessary measures to identify the owners of the holiday cottages.

193 holiday cottages stand on parcels on forest land of national importance that have not been created. When parcels will be formed, the area under and around the cottages will have to be removed from the list of forest land of national importance, so there is a risk that this valuable forest will not be preserved. The auditors found that the measures introduced in Šventoji settlement during  almost five years of state control of land use have failed to essentially improve the situation.

State control of land use is effective when violations are removed and not simply identified. However, the NLS is not authorised to check whether the violations identified thereby have been eliminated. Violations were not removed in 51 land parcels out 76 ones where the NLS had identified violations. Not a single violation identified by NLS specialists was removed in Trakai and Švenčionys districts, less than half of the identified violations were eliminated in Vilnius city, Vilnius district, and Klaipėda district.

The auditors also pointed out that fines imposed on land owners for neglected and abandoned land do not have a disciplining effect, because the amount of the fine does not depend on the area of the abandoned land. Paying the fine is often more cost-effective for the land owner than properly managing the land. In such cases, control of land use becomes inefficient.

The National Audit Office issued recommendations to the Ministry of Agriculture and the National Land Service to help ensure more efficient state control of land use.