Air monitor stations growing independent

Work to remove air quality monitoring stations from local government control is almost complete, the Ministry of Environmental Protection said after officials in northern China were accused of tampering with pollution data.

The plan is to separate all 1,436 monitoring stations nationwide from provincial, city and county bureaus and place them under the operation of companies that will report directly to the central government.

Preparation work to become independent has been completed at 92 percent of stations nationwide, while all stations in 18 areas, including Beijing and Sichuan and Henan provinces, have transferred to third-party companies, the ministry said on Monday.