CHANGES IN LAND OWNERSHIP DURING THE ACQUISITION OF LAND FOR THE PUBLIC NEEDS OF THE "RAIL BALTICA" PROJECT IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF PANEVEZYS DISTRICT

Abstract

Recently, a lot of attention has been paid to the railway transport infrastructure project "Rail Baltica". This project is a greenfield project, therefore it affects a lot of land plot owners. The structure of land holdings is changing, farming conditions are changing, economic activity is being restricted due to the protection zones of the railway and its facilities. The land needed for the construction of the railway is purchased from the landowners according to the procedure of acquiring land for public needs approved in Lithuania. The purpose of this article is to analyze the changes in land holdings during the implementation of the project of special national importance "Rail Baltica" in the territory of Panevezys district municipality. In this study, a spatial analysis of land plots was carried out, comparing land plots before and after the project. The railway designed in the "Rail Baltica" project touched more than 500 ha of land plots, of which 76 percent. dedicated to railway track and 24 percent for local roads near the railway track. The railway track divides the plot of land into two or more plots, as a result of which the plots of land decreased and the structure of land holdings became irrational. In order to effectively use irrational land plots, it is appropriate to prepare complex land consolidation projects, to buy out small land plots.