Heavy Rain and Mudslides Hit Tongxiao Residences, Miaoli County Government Investigates Illegal Farmland Use and Imposes Fines

Miaoli County, April 15 (CNA) Heavy rains on April 4 caused flooding in many areas of Miaoli County, including mudslides that inundated homes in Ronghua Community, Tongnan Village, Tongxiao Township, causing severe damage. The county government's investigation found that soil and rocks were illegally dumped and land was leveled on the land behind the residences. Relevant departments have imposed fines according to law and referred the case to the district prosecutor's office for investigation.

The Miaoli County Government stated today in a press release that the case involves five plots of land in the Nanhua section of Tongxiao Township, located in an urban planning agricultural zone and a specific agricultural zone for non-urban land. Investigations revealed that mobile screening (separation) machines were illegally operated there, and a large amount of unknown soil and rocks were dumped, severely damaging the agricultural production environment. Fines were imposed twice last year; in January this year, it was discovered that unknown soil and rocks were still being dumped and land leveled, leading to a third fine.

The county government stated that after the heavy rain disaster on April 4, the Agriculture Department led a team to re-inspect the site on April 8 and found that construction was still ongoing and soil and rocks were being transported out. In addition to imposing a fine of NT$300,000 for illegal use, the Industrial and Commercial Development Department also referred the case to the district prosecutor's office for investigation of illegal activities. In addition, the Environmental Protection Bureau determined that the perpetrators violated the Waste Disposal Act and the Air Pollution Control Act and imposed penalties.

The county government pointed out that after joint inspections by various departments confirmed the violations, in addition to heavily penalizing the perpetrators and land owners, the entire case was referred to the Miaoli District Prosecutor's Office for investigation. The county government reiterated that agricultural land should be used for agricultural purposes, and landowners should fulfill their management responsibilities and not arbitrarily provide land for others to dump soil and rocks or engage in illegal operations.

The county government stated that the site was approved by the Tongxiao Township Office in 2024 for the construction of an agricultural road. However, the applicant did not use it according to the original approved plan. The township office officially issued a letter on May 29 last year to revoke the permit for use, but the relevant construction notice signs are still left on site, causing public misunderstanding. This is hereby clarified. (Editor: Chang Ya-ching) 1150415