A new draft law on environmental impact assessments will ensure examinations of development projects all over China more closely to prevent pollution and achieve sustainable development, the China Daily reported Monday.
The draft legislation demands administrative bodies make an environmental impact assessment of their land use, city planning and regional construction and exploitation programs, as well as their plans relating to agriculture, energy, forestry, manufacturing, tourism, transport, water resources, and the exploitation of natural resources.
All construction projects will have to undergo an environmental impact assessment, according to the draft law. Currently, more than 90 percent of relevant projects in China have undergone such tests in the past decade, the paper quoted sources with the National People's Congress as saying.
Senior legislators started to review the draft legislation in December 2000. The draft was submitted to the latest session of the congress Standing Committee for a second reading last week.
(Xinhua News Agency August 26, 2002)
