Mayors called in as environmental supervision shifts to local gov'ts

China's environmental watchdog summoned another local city government mayor on Wednesday to discuss slack pollution response measures, as it exploits a tougher environmental protection law and aims to change people's perception of "weak enforcement".

Interviews between a city mayor and senior environmental protection ministry officials are usually tense.

In the case of Zhumadian, a city in central China, the ministry official bluntly criticized the city government for not quickly shutting down polluters that did not pass environmental impact assessment.

"The government of Zhumadian should bear the responsibility for this," said Zou Shoumin, head of the ministry's supervision bureau, adding the interview served as a serious warning.

Zou also urged Zhumadian government to take effective measures to rectify the problems as soon as possible and probe those who should be held accountable for dereliction of duty.

Zhang Xin, vice mayor of Zhumadian (the position of mayor is vacant), said he accepted the criticism and vowed to quickly form and implement an action plan.

Zhang was following in the steps of a number of Chinese mayors who have been called in to the ministry's headquarters for pollution problems. Last November, the mayor of Anyang City was called in to discuss the city's smog response measures while the government of Kunming was also criticized in January for failure to control pollution of a major lake.

By calling in the mayors, the ministry is also taking advantage of a newly amended environmental protection law and shifting their supervision from factories to local governments.

The new environmental protection law, which became effective on Jan.1, stipulates that responsible persons in the government should resign if they fail to order the shut down of certain polluters.

According to Zou, such interviews usually work -- under the instructions of the mayors, governments attach more importance to the problems and improve environmental quality.

Premier Li Keqiang also pinned hope on the law. The new law must be a powerful, effective tool to control pollution instead of being "as soft as cotton candy," said Li while speaking at a press conference following the annual national legislative session which concluded on March. 15.

"Whether the environment is good or not hinges on whether the government can take responsibilities," said Zou, adding environmental protection personnel should not fight the "war on pollution" alone.