The Ministry of Land and Resources was set up on April 8, 1 998 in the restructuring of the State Council. On the basis of the Scheme for the Organizational Reform of the State Council approved by the first meeting of the 9th NPC and the Notice of the Organizational Setup issued by the State Council, the former Ministry of Geology and Mineral Resources, State Land Administration , State Oceanic Administration and State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping merged to form the Ministry of Land and Resources , a department of the State Council responsible for the planning , administration, protection and rational utilization of land , mineral and marine resources . The State Oceanic Administration and the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping are state bureaus under the administration of the Ministry of Land and Resources .