The central province of Henan has closed 1,046 polluting enterprises since early July in an effort to improve the local environment.

Closed were some small paper-making and coke plants, that were being run illegally or had been constructed in violation of regulations.

The provincial environmental protection bureau launched a campaign early this year to investigate and punish enterprises which failed to meet the standards set by the government for discharging waste water.

One hundred and four enterprises were ordered to stop production, 79 were required to meet standards for discharging waste water within time limits, 112 were fined and 54 were closed.

The province's efforts to curb water pollution have paid off. According to the provincial environmental monitoring center, the amount of waste water discharged into the sections of the Haihe, Yellow and Huaihe rivers in the province was reduced by over 30 percent in July and August as compared with the first quarter of the year.

(Xinhua News Agency August 20, 2003)