![A pedestrian wearing face mask against air pollution walks on a road in heavy smog and a sandstorm in Xi'an city, northwest China's Shaanxi province, 2 December 2018.[Photo:IC]](http://img3.zhytuku.meldingcloud.com/images/zhycms_chinaplus/20181208/4619e26d-07d3-479e-ab8e-b8d75dee491b.jpg?x-oss-process=image/resize,w_650)
China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment said Saturday that some 2,177 people from 10 provinces had been held accountable in the country’s latest round of environmental inspection.
By Thursday, inspection teams sent by the central government have dealt with public complaints concerning 38,133 cases in the provinces of Shanxi, Liaoning, Jilin, Anhui, Shandong, Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan, Guizhou and Shaanxi.
So far, local governments have handled 26,873 cases and imposed fines of 214 million yuan (31.2 million U.S. dollars). Some 88 people have been detained.
The inspection teams also made public 27 typical cases to prevent formalism and bureaucratism in environmental enforcement.
With the aid of central inspection, China has stepped up efforts to stop environmental violations amid a shift to a development path that is more environmentally friendly.
