Proposed environmental approval reform does not mean laissez faire

THE MINISTRY of Environmental Protection has issued a notice encouraging environmental protection departments of various levels to delegate the power of issuing environmental impact assessment reports to qualified organizations. Beijing News comments:

Environmental impact assessment reports are necessary for almost all infrastructure and construction projects, and they have undoubtedly become a hotbed of corruption, with some local environmental protection department officials or their superiors treating the reports as an excuse for seeking bribes from the contractors.

As many past cases show, as long as those applicants seeking the go-ahead of an environmental impact assessment report greased the right palms, a beautiful report would be issued, irrespective of a project's true environmental impact.