The Ministry of Water Resources will investigate the problem in China’s 14 provinces to use as evidence when drafting the law, said Kuang Shaotao, an official with the ministry, earlier this month.

Kuang has urged local authorities to look into the random and illegal extraction of sand from rivers.

"Any sand excavation must be approved by the ministries of water resources, communications, and land and resources, with permits issued by all of them," he was quoted as saying.

Controlled sand excavation and quarrying on watercourses will speed up the discharge of floods, experts say.

Excessive sand extraction, however, has caused some sections of flood-control embankments to collapse and posed a threat to the safety of bridges and other structures across rivers.

Besides, there have been repeated shipwrecks and crashes with heavy casualties and economic damage on rivers due to sand-extraction boats jamming major watercourses in recent years.

Some provinces, including Jiangsu and Anhui along the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze -- China's longest river, have implemented sand-extraction bans to prevent further damages, Kuang told a press conference in Beijing.

A special rule also came into effect at the beginning of this year to govern sand extraction on the river.

According to the rule, the first of its kind in China, illegal sand excavation faces heavy fines of up to 300,000 yuan (US$36,140) and the confiscation of income and boats.

(Xinhua News Agency August 8, 2002)