China's coal-rich Shanxi Province has launched a three-year plan
to improve people's lives in 676 villages that used to have mines,
said a local official on Tuesday.
According to Zhang Huaiwen, director of the Land and Resources
Department of Shanxi, the mined-out areas in the province total
6,000 square kilometers, 3.8 percent of Shanxi's area.
In as many as 676 villages, mining has eroded land, damaged
houses and drained underground water.
Zhang said that in 2007, 1.19 billion yuan (US$153 million) will
be allocated to 201 villages to improve the living conditions of
170,000 people by relocating them or having their houses
repaired.
The money will also be used to dig wells to ensure there is
enough potable water, and to improve the condition of the fields to
make them arable, said the director.
Shanxi takes a proactive approach to mining-related problems. It
has shut down 6,000 illegal mines and will collect money for
sustainable development from coal producing enterprises.
(Xinhua News Agency April 4, 2007)