Over 6,200 officials held accountable for environmental damage

BEIJING -- China has held 6,219 officials in 10 provincial regions accountable for environmental damage after inspections by central authorities from May 30 to July 7, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment said Tuesday.

A total of 610 people have been detained and 710 million yuan (about $102.6 million) of fines imposed following the environmental inspections, the ministry said in a statement.

The inspected regions were Hebei, Henan, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Heilongjiang, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Guangdong, Guangxi and Yunnan.

Inspectors uncovered a slew of problems, including inadequate implementation of measures to improve environmental protection.

The ministry is preparing for another round of inspections, according to the statement.

The inspections are part of China's campaign to fight pollution and environmental degradation as decades of growth have left the country with smog, polluted water and contaminated soil.

Tackling pollution is one of "the three tough battles" that China aims to win within three years.