Look, this flood control forest has been cleared, and it has also passed the acceptance of the provincial and municipal river and lake chief offices. A few days ago, Zhang Pei, director of the Fourth Procuratorial Department of the Jingzhou District Procuratorate of Jingzhou City, introduced the work of flood control forest clearance in the section of the Fuzhang River under the jurisdiction of the Water Chestnut Lake Management Area to the deputies of the National People's Congress, CPPCC members, lawyer representatives, volunteers and workers who were invited to participate in the "Ecological and Environmental Public Interest Litigation Prosecution to Help the Construction of a Beautiful China".
From receiving public interest litigation clues in March 2022 to January 2023, the Jingzhou District Procuratorate has been able to perform its public interest litigation duties, urge the corresponding administrative organs to fully perform their duties in accordance with the law, and promote the thorough rectification of the 3,500 acres of flood control forests in the Fuzhang River in Jingzhou, Hubei Province, to ensure the smooth flow of floods and protect the "clear water of a river".
Formulate and issue procuratorial recommendations
3,500 acres of flood control forests should be cleared
A large number of tall trees planted in the water chestnut lake section of the Fuzhang River in Jingzhou District seriously affected the safety of flooding in the upcoming flood season, and the obstacle removal work was required to be completed before December 31. "In March 2022, the Jingzhou District River and Lake Governor's Office received a supervision letter from the Hubei Provincial Department of Water Resources.
The implementation of comprehensive river basin management is an important prerequisite and basic guarantee for Hubei Province to build a pioneer area of a new development pattern. The Fuzhang River is a first-class tributary of the Yangtze River, and it is one of the 16 second-level river basin base map units delineated by the province.
When the protection of public welfare conflicts with the interests of enterprises, the wrecker removal work is destined to be difficult to complete as scheduled. What to do?The Jingzhou District River and Lake Chief's Office will discuss and judge that it is urgent to leverage the procuratorate to initiate public interest litigation and accelerate the rectification work.
In the face of the complex case, Zhang Pei responded quickly, launched the preliminary investigation and evidence collection work in an all-round way, and clarified the work ideas.
In September and October of the same year, the court issued pre-litigation procuratorial suggestions to the water conservancy, emergency management, natural resources and planning departments of Jingzhou District: urge all departments to perform their duties and responsibilities, immediately correct erroneous administrative licensing behaviors, cancel the forest right certificates of enterprises ex officio, and quickly organize and carry out the compulsory removal of obstacles in the river.
However, the forest land involved in the case was included in the scope of the third national land survey forest land, and it could not be cut down without a cutting permit. The company involved in the case continued to delay the application for the felling certificate due to internal equity disputes.
In the face of the urgent river clearance work, after repeated communication, the court launched the working mechanism of the chief procurator + the chief of rivers and lakes, organized a roundtable meeting of specially invited people's congress deputies to participate in supervision, and put forward the procuratorial plan that "in the case of damage to the national public interest, after performing the statutory notification procedures, the felling permit can be handled under the name of the emergency department with the right of compulsory clearance".
On December 9 of the same year, the court filed a lawsuit with the District People's Court, requesting that the Jingzhou District Water Conservancy and Lake Bureau be ordered to perform its duties in accordance with the law for the company's act of planting tall trees in the river section of the water chestnut lake section of the Fuzhang River.
In October 2023, 3,500 acres of high-pole forests were all cut down, and the forest right certificate of the enterprise involved in the case was also reported to the Provincial Forestry Department for approval and cancellation in accordance with the procedures.
Before governance. 
Post-governance. Safeguard the rights and interests of the enterprise
We will continue to empower and optimize the business environment based on the rule of law
The trees involved can be cleared, but the interests and development of the relevant enterprises also need to be effectively safeguarded. In the course of handling the case, the court attached great importance to the protection of the business environment of the enterprises involved in the case.
Zhang Pei led a team to visit the company involved in the case in Yichang many times to understand the demands of the enterprise, publicize relevant laws and regulations, and actively promote the civil compensation process of the water chestnut lake management area committee and the company involved in the case.
Considering the actual situation of the downturn in the forest market, the court suggested that the water chestnut lake management area should increase the compensation for early termination of the contract within a reasonable range, so as to recover the economic losses of the enterprises involved in the case as much as possible.
At the same time, taking into account the "hematopoietic" function of the enterprise involved in the case, the court, together with the Jingzhou District Water Conservancy and Lake Bureau, demonstrated the feasibility of legally and rationally developing and utilizing the forbidden land of the Fuzhang River for modern farming, and finally led to the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Water Chestnut Lake Management Area Committee and the company to extend the lease term of the Bund land.
Now, the company involved in the case has received 3.2 million yuan in compensation for losses, and re-signed a contract with the water chestnut lake management area, extending the contract period for 8 years on the basis of the original contract according to the original lease.
The first time I went to Yichang, the person in charge was very resistant. After door-to-door communication again and again, their attitude has also changed little by little, and now, the company has a stronger confidence and cordiality in the investment and development of Jingzhou. ”
Huang Xiaoyu, assistant prosecutor of the Fourth Procuratorate Department of the People's Court, witnessed the changes in the enterprises involved in the case in the process of handling the case, and also saw the continuous empowerment of procuratorial public interest litigation to optimize the business environment under the rule of law.
Make good use of public interest litigation
Guarding the "integration of city and water" in the great beauty of Jingzhou
The procuratorial public interest litigation system is an institutional innovation under the guidance of the idea of ecological civilization and the rule of law, and is becoming an important new force in ecological environmental protection.
Bu Kaizhi, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Procurator General of the Jingzhou District Procuratorate, said that the procuratorial organs are important participants and promoters of the comprehensive management of the service and guarantee river basins on the track of the rule of law.
Since 2022, the court has handled a total of 86 cases related to comprehensive river basin management, formulated and issued 36 procuratorial recommendations, and supervised the treatment of drinking water source pollution in the Yangtze River Basin12 square meters, more than 3,000 acres of flood barriers, 13 sewage outlets, 1 ship pollution cleanup, and 30 enterprises that cause environmental pollution are urged to carry out rectification.
In the process of handling administrative public interest litigation cases, the court takes into account both "public interest" and "litigation", and resolutely reflects the judicial value guidance with the confirmation of "litigation" for the difficult problem of public interest damage that cannot be resolved by pre-litigation procedures.
On June 6, because the Jingzhou District Water Conservancy and Lake Bureau had actively performed its duties in the course of the lawsuit, the court changed its litigation request to confirm that the Jingzhou District Water Conservancy and Lake Bureau's administrative act of removing the flood barrier of the Fuzhang River was illegal.
At the same time, the water chestnut lake management area committee adopted all the suggestions of the procuratorate, set up a special class for state-owned assets work, completed a comprehensive inventory of state-owned land contracts and state-owned asset leasing contracts signed in recent years, and established a large-area, long-term contract must be verified by the judicial office and a "double-file" ledger management system for paper and electronic contracts to ensure that the procedures for the use of state-owned land and assets are legal and compliant.
The effect of the case has been approved by the main leaders of the provincial and municipal procuratorates, and the court has also taken the comprehensive management of the river basin as the entry point, and officially launched the "people's congress + procuratorial concentric circles" work brand on the basis of handling the case, taking the comprehensive management of the river basin as the entry point, and exploring the two-way connection and transformation of the people's congress suggestions and the procuratorial suggestions, so as to unite the joint force of the comprehensive management and protection of the river basin.
In April this year, the public interest litigation department of the court received a report from the public that the waters of West Lake Park on the South Inner Ring Road had been polluted for a long time, with poor water quality, large areas of fish death, and a foul smell.
The procurator who undertook the case quickly visited the site, investigated and verified, launched the working mechanism of "people's congress + concentric circles of procuratorial governance", and issued procuratorial suggestions to the four administrative departments of housing and construction, streets, ecology and environment, and water conservancy, urging the comprehensive investigation and control of the water pollution problem in West Lake Park.
Today, the situation of overgrown weeds and foul-smelling water quality in West Lake Park has been greatly improvedLi Yi, deputy to the Hubei Provincial People's Congress, secretary of the Party Committee and director of the neighborhood committee of Sanyi Street Community, Xicheng Street, is full of expectations for the future of ecological and environmental governance in West Lake Park, and hopes that the procuratorial organs will continue to play the same supervision as the 'People's Congress' and help the comprehensive management of the river basin continue to play a positive ......
In the future, the Jingzhou District Procuratorate will conscientiously and fully perform its duties and responsibilities with a higher position, a wider vision and greater efforts, continue to help the comprehensive management of the river basin, do a good job in ecological answers, protect the "clear water of the Yangtze River", and contribute to the public interest litigation prosecution force for the ecological and environmental protection of the Yangtze River Basin.
*丨Official WeChat of Jingzhou District Procuratorate, Jingzhou City.
Editor丨Wu Xuemin.
Audit丨Dai Xiaowei Cai Xin.