Beijing, Jun 22.- Chinese Legislators discussed today the rough draft of the country's first law on soil pollution control and prevention.
According to an official spokesman, this project arises in the face of growing public concern about the environmental costs of decades of rapid growth.
During the inaugural meeting of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee bimonthly session, Luo Qingquan, deputy head of the NPC's Environment and Resources Protection Committee, labeled China's situation discouraging, with regard to soil conditions.
According to Luo, the pollution of the land has become an imminent environmental challenge that needs to be addressed and a major obstacle in the country's mission to build a moderately prosperous society in all aspects.
The new law will help improve soil quality, ensure the safety of agricultural products and public health, ensure sustainability in the use of land resources and protect the environment, he stressed.
The rough draft expresses the commitment to establish funds to prevent soil contamination and make a census on the condition every ten years.
Official sources point out that with this first law China tries to control the growing pollution of the land and rehabilitate degraded strips throughout the country.
Pollution of air, water and soil is one of the pending issues of the current administration which aims to reduce air pollution by 40 percent by 2020.