Govt to step up oversight of agencies

China will take a tougher stance on agencies that provide environmental impact assessments, with new rules to take effect on Nov 1, according to the Ministry of Environmental Protection.

The ministry this year has conducted inspections on agencies that provide environmental impact assessment services for projects in many regions, and has found many problems, according to the ministry's statement on Tuesday.

Many agencies, for instance, have "ghost" employees, such as engineers who only attach their certificates to the agencies but do not work there. It also found that assessment documents failed to meet required standards, said Cheng Lifeng, head of the environmental impact assessment department under the ministry, on Tuesday.