2,682 officials held accountable in environment inspections

In recent inspections, China held 2,682 local officials to account for poor environmental protection efforts, the Ministry of Environmental Protection said Saturday.

The central government just wrapped up its month-long second round of inspections in seven provincial regions including Beijing, Shanghai and Hubei, to review local government work.

Through public tip-offs and random checks, inspectors looked into 12,005 cases and imposed fines totalling 243.03 million yuan (about 35 million U.S. dollars).

China is fighting pollution and environmental degradation after decades of growth left the country saddled with problems such as smog and contaminated soil.

The central government put forth a national plan on environmental improvement for the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020), earlier this month, which set detailed tasks on polluted air, water and soil.