Lax local environmental protection to be held accountable: official

BEIJING, March 11 (Xinhua) -- The relaxation of environmental protection by some local governments to prioritize economic development amid downward economic pressure will not be tolerated, the country's top environment regulator said Monday.

Lax local environmental protection is one of the major supervision targets of the inspection by the central government, and officials who sacrifice environmental protection for short-term interests will be held accountable, Li Ganjie, the minister of ecology and environment, told a press conference on the sidelines of the annual legislative session.

The ministry also opposes and will resolutely stop simplistic environmental protection practice such as closing plants indiscriminately, Li said.

The above two scenarios are only local cases, not national phenomena, Li added.