The Ministry of Environmental Protection has announced its plan for this year's pollution abatement work, highlighting crack down on activities against environmental protection.

Minister Zhou Shengxian told a video and telephone conference Tuesday that his ministry will closely monitor energy-intensive and highly polluting enterprises, especially iron and steel manufacturing, and arsenic-related companies.

He said the ministry would continue to protect more than 5,700 drinking water source areas and control sewage treatment plants and landfill plants in rural and urban areas.

Last year, about 15,000 enterprises were punished for pollution and nearly 100 people held accountable were punished, according to the ministry.

"Although China has made great progress in 2008, this year's protection work is still challenging for us," Zhou said.

(Xinhua News Agency April 15, 2009)