8,644 held accountable in China's environmental overhaul

China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment said Friday that 8,644 people from 20 provincial regions had been held accountable in the country's latest round of environmental inspection.

By Dec. 20, inspection teams sent by the central government have dealt with public complaints concerning 96,755 cases in 20 provincial regions, while local governments have handled 75,781 cases.

Fines imposed during the campaign amounted to 1.02 billion yuan (149 million U.S. dollars), and a total of 722 people have been detained.

Liu Changgen, deputy director of the national environmental inspection office, said that the second round of national environmental inspection would start from 2019 and last three years.

China has stepped up efforts to stop environmental violations amid a shift to a more environmentally friendly development path.

Liu said the second round inspection will be expanded to look into departments from the State Council as well as the central enterprises.