175b yuan rural plan for safe drinking water
Source: Xinhua |
June 30, 2012, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
CHINA will invest 175 billion yuan (US$27.53 billion) before the end of 2015 to ensure safe drinking water in rural areas, a government official said yesterday.
Vice Minister of Water Resources Li Guoying made the pledge at an ongoing bi-monthly session of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, citing a State Council report on a five-year plan for improving rural drinking water quality. The report was deliberated by legislators on Thursday.
According to the report, the central government will subsidize 68 percent, or about 118.8 billion yuan, of the total investment, while another 22 percent of the funds will be provided by local governments and 10 percent will be assumed by rural residents, Li said.
Residents will be charged an average of 54.6 yuan annually, according to the report.
Li said subsidies in eastern and central China are typically less than those in the country's less-developed western areas.
In the Tibet Autonomous Region, for example, the central government will bear all of the costs, Li said.
The number of rural residents who lacked access to safe drinking water dropped by 221 million between 2004 and 2010, Du Ying, vice minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, said at the Wednesday session.
However, legislators have admitted that improving the quality of drinking water in China has been challenging, particularly in rural areas. As many as 298 million rural residents still lack safe water, according to the report.
In the next three years, the central government's allocation will be first used to guarantee the operation of drinking water projects for rural areas, Li said.
Meanwhile, efforts should be made to protect water sources by reducing and optimizing the use of fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture, reducing pollution and improving the restoration of rural ecosystems, said Li.
China amended its drinking water quality standards in 2006, increasing the number of water quality indices to 106.
"By the end of 2015, the 106 quality indices will be implemented in all provincial capitals and municipalities," Minister of Health Chen Zhu said.
Also by 2015, nearly 80 percent of the rural population will have access to safe drinking water through centralized water supply facilities, Du said.
China should also deepen its reform of water prices nationwide and further promote progressive pricing schemes.
Vice Minister of Water Resources Li Guoying made the pledge at an ongoing bi-monthly session of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, citing a State Council report on a five-year plan for improving rural drinking water quality. The report was deliberated by legislators on Thursday.
According to the report, the central government will subsidize 68 percent, or about 118.8 billion yuan, of the total investment, while another 22 percent of the funds will be provided by local governments and 10 percent will be assumed by rural residents, Li said.
Residents will be charged an average of 54.6 yuan annually, according to the report.
Li said subsidies in eastern and central China are typically less than those in the country's less-developed western areas.
In the Tibet Autonomous Region, for example, the central government will bear all of the costs, Li said.
The number of rural residents who lacked access to safe drinking water dropped by 221 million between 2004 and 2010, Du Ying, vice minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, said at the Wednesday session.
However, legislators have admitted that improving the quality of drinking water in China has been challenging, particularly in rural areas. As many as 298 million rural residents still lack safe water, according to the report.
In the next three years, the central government's allocation will be first used to guarantee the operation of drinking water projects for rural areas, Li said.
Meanwhile, efforts should be made to protect water sources by reducing and optimizing the use of fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture, reducing pollution and improving the restoration of rural ecosystems, said Li.
China amended its drinking water quality standards in 2006, increasing the number of water quality indices to 106.
"By the end of 2015, the 106 quality indices will be implemented in all provincial capitals and municipalities," Minister of Health Chen Zhu said.
Also by 2015, nearly 80 percent of the rural population will have access to safe drinking water through centralized water supply facilities, Du said.
China should also deepen its reform of water prices nationwide and further promote progressive pricing schemes.
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