Illegal buildings on the Yangtze to be dealt with

A total of 121 irregular constructions along the Yangtze River should be rectified or cleared before the end of June next year, according to a notice issued by the Ministry of Water Resources.

For those to be demolished, the deadline is the end of this year.

Two irregular marinas in Chongming District have already been demolished, and the demolition of another is underway.

The notice said 99 of the irregular constructions lacked building permits. Thirty will be preserved, seven will be demolished and the other 62 will be rectified.

This is part of a nationwide inspection to get rid of irregular constructions alongside the Yangtze River.

Wei Zhongshan, head of the water resources ministry, said there were 2,441 irregular constructions along the 8,331-kilometer Yangtze River. The first batch of 356 need to be demolished before June this year.

The ministry started their investigation in December 2017. Hu Jiajun, head of the Changjiang Water Resource Commission of the ministry, said many of the irregular constructions can be preserved after rectification.

The Yangtze River is China’s "mother river." It has a unique ecosystem, the riverfront also making up an important part, the ministry said. Ruling out the buildings and projects posing threats to the river will help the country move toward more sustainable development.