2,682 officialsfined during environment inspections in China

China has held 2,682 officials to account for poor environmental protection efforts recently, as the country is fighting pollution and environmental degradation, the government said today.
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 USD 35 million), state-run Xinhua news agency quoted the Ministry of Environmental Protection as saying.
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.