1,613 held accountable for environmental damage in Xinjiang

A total of 1,613 people in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region have been held accountable for environmental problems, after a national inspection.

Xinjiang was among eight provincial-level regions that underwent a one-month review by the inspection teams dispatched by the central authorities from August to September.

The inspection team to Xinjiang said on Tuesday that as of October 31, the region had resolved 2,905 cases highlighted by the team; a total of 2,182 companies were ordered to make improvements, and 548 companies were punished with total fines of 68.2 million yuan (US$10.5 million).

The region has had 25 people detained for environmental problems and a total of 1,613 people were held accountable.

Xinjiang, reliant on energy resources exploitation for economic growth, still faces some prominent environmental issues, such as inadequate attention to environment, insufficient cuts to outdated production capacity, and inadequate treatment of air and water pollution.

Some cities, including regional capital Urumqi, have seen their air quality deteriorate over the past few years.

Small coal mines as well as sand and clay mines closed down in the region have damaged 2,165 square kilometers of land and only 3.77 percent of it has been treated.

Some factories lack adequate environmental protection procedures or pollution control facilities.

Pollution and inadequate environmental controls have also been found in places under the jurisdiction of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, an economic and semi-military body stationed in the region.