Environmental inspectors take decisive action
By Hou Liqiang | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2024-06-13 22:22
Over 200 officials have been held accountable for environmental violations after teams from the country's high-profile central environmental inspection concluded a month-long visit to seven provincial regions along the Yangtze River.
As of last Sunday, the teams had received 38,773 reports from the public, and 32,781 of them were found to be valid, according to a media release from the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, where the office of the inspection is based.
Working under ministerial-level officials, central environmental inspection teams report to a central group headed by a vice-premier. This time, the focus of the inspection prioritized looking into the performance of governments in promoting well-coordinated Yangtze conservation.
After removing duplicated reports, inspectors transferred 24,314 cases to local authorities for handling, including in Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hubei and Hunan provinces. Of these, the ministry said, 14,692 cases have been completely or partly settled.
It said 2,258 companies have been punished, and 77 cases have been transferred to the police for further investigation.
Inspectors summoned 877 officials, with 208 being held accountable, it noted.
It said each of the inspection teams has arranged for inspectors to follow up cases still being handled by local authorities, to "ensure that all violations the public reported will be adequately investigated, rectified and made public".
