State Duma Committee on Natural Resources, Property and Land Relations approved the first version of a bill on expanding the Far Eastern Hectare program to the Russian Arctic region. State Duma deputies are to examine the document on May 25.

Submitted by the Government to the lower house of parliament, the bill aims to simplify the procedure for allotting private land plots in the Arctic region, as well as other Northern, Siberian and Far Eastern territories, to use idle lands for economic purposes and to motivate people to develop land plots being provided under the Far Eastern Hectare program.

Earlier, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin explained that additional Arctic territories would be included in the above-mentioned program. People can obtain land plots more quickly under simplified procedures. The authorities will prioritize efforts to preserve the traditions of small Northern, Siberian and Far Eastern indigenous ethnic groups and their culture, Mishustin noted.

People developing, leasing or owning land plots under the Far Eastern Hectare program can obtain one additional hectare of land. These measures will make it possible to make more active use of idle lands in the Far Eastern Federal District and the Russian Arctic, Mishustin said. Most importantly, these land plots will motivate people to launch their own businesses and to build housing for their families. They will boost people’s incomes and will make their lives more comfortable, he added.