DUSHANBE, July 13, 2015, Asia-Plus -- Tajik authorities plan to cancel land-use certificates in the future.

In a report released at a news conference in Dushanbe, Akbar Yatimzoda, the head of the State Committee for Land Management and Geodesy, revealed on July 13 that the government plans to cancel land-use certificates in the future and register land plots used by the population as real estate.

“We want to simplify procedures and land plots will be registered in one document alongside other real estates of citizens,” Yatimzoda said.

According to him, State Unitary Enterprise (SUE) “Registration of Real Estate” that has been set up at the Sate Committee on Investment and Privatization of State-owned Property recently will be engaged in studying that issue.

Tajikistan’s Constitution does not permit the private ownership of land, though long term heritable land rights are provided for in law.

Agriculture plays a key role in the economy of Tajikistan. Yet, agricultural land in Tajikistan, especially arable land, is very scarce. Including pastures, agricultural land totals only 4.57 million hectares, of which arable land totals 0.7 million hectares, or 0.11 hectares per capita. Despite the value of land to rural residents, the process of farm reorganization and private use and control of land has progressed very slowly, especially in the cotton producing areas of Tajikistan.