China revises compensation standard for land expropriation for hydropower projects

BEIJING, May 2 (Xinhua) -- The State Council, China's Cabinet, on Tuesday issued a revised guideline on compensation for farmers who have their land expropriated by major water conservancy projects or hydropower stations.

The guideline, effective from June, allows provincial-level governments to set their own standards for compensation and relocation subsidies according to local economic output or land prices.

Previously, the compensation and relocation subsidies were set at 16 times the average annual output of the land for the three years before it was expropriated.