On Wednesday the State Environmental Protection Administration issued a circular to four provincial authorities in the Huaihe River region urging them to do more to stop river pollution.

Provincial environmental protection authorities are being asked to turn in small companies, such as paper plants and alcohol producers, that should be shut down for polluting practices.

Controls for major companies that discharge pollutants and sewage treatment plants should also be in place by the end of the year, the circular said, and companies that release more pollutants than permitted should be publicized through the media and reported to the administration.

The circular suggests that provincial governments sign papers with city and county governments making them take responsibility for monitoring targets and making requirements clear.

The Huaihe River, one of the largest rivers in China, supplies water for around 165 million people in Henan, Hubei, Anhui and Jiangsu provinces in central and eastern China.

In late October, a State Council conference on pollution control for the river was held in Bengbu, Anhui Province and attended by Vice-Premier Zeng Peiyan.

At the conference, governments of the four provinces signed a pledge to cut pollution along the river, which was endorsed by the State Council.

The provinces have promised to increase control of industrial pollution along the river from next year and to build additional sewage treatment plants. They say they will also curb agricultural pollution.

(China Daily December 9, 2004)