This newspaper reports (reporters Shen Jingfang, Yu Weizhao, and Li Zhuopeng): "Groundwater volume control indicators are constantly being refined, and farmers will irrigate according to the plan. Large-scale irrigation and circular irrigation are gradually being transformed into sub-film drip irrigation, and water use efficiency has been significantly improved!" Recently, procurators from the Chahar Right Middle Banner Procuratorate of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (hereinafter referred to as "Chayouzhong Banner Procuratorate") and staff from the banner's water conservancy department visited Heishanzi Village in the jurisdiction to conduct a "follow-up review" of public interest litigation on groundwater resource protection, and the village committee staff introduced this.

Chayouzhong Banner is a resource-type water-scarce area. In order to better protect groundwater resources, since April 2023, the Chayouzhong Banner Procuratorate has promoted the banner's water conservancy department to carry out "spring" and "autumn" actions for river and lake protection, comprehensively investigating violations of groundwater extraction in the jurisdiction. The procuratorate discovered clues and handled 6 public interest litigation cases, issued 3 procuratorial suggestions, and initiated 3 consultations.

After the cases were concluded, the Chayouzhong Banner Procuratorate continued to pay attention to groundwater protection issues. In June 2024, the procuratorate sorted and analyzed the cases handled since the launch of the "spring" and "autumn" actions for river and lake protection, and conducted field research in 11 townships and towns in the banner on the issues of groundwater protection and utilization discovered during the handling of cases. "The survey results show that some sprinkler irrigation circles in Chayouzhong Banner have not been upgraded for water conservation in a timely manner, and the annual agricultural use of groundwater accounts for more than 85% of the total water use. Since July 2023, the overall water level in Chayouzhong Banner has been declining compared to the previous year, and the situation of groundwater protection is severe." said Duan Haijun, the procurator in charge of the case.

In August 2024, based on fully listening to the opinions and suggestions of relevant administrative departments and people's congress deputies, the Chayouzhong Banner Procuratorate issued a procuratorial suggestion to the water conservancy department, urging it to further strengthen supervision and management and create a good atmosphere for nationwide water conservation. After receiving the procuratorial suggestion, the water conservancy department took the lead, and jointly with the agriculture and animal husbandry and science and technology departments and the industrial and information technology department, launched water conservation actions. The water conservancy department investigated more than 5,000 irrigation electromechanical wells and established an account book to accurately control irrigation water use; the agriculture and animal husbandry and science and technology department actively carried out agricultural water conservation transformation and vigorously promoted sub-film drip irrigation technology; the industrial and information technology department guided enterprises to carry out in-depth water conservation and wastewater recycling transformation...

In March of this year, a staff member of the Chayouzhong Banner Water Conservancy Department called Duan Haijun: "The latest water conservation data has been compiled. In 2024, the banner newly built 17,000 mu of high-efficiency water-saving farmland; continued to implement the water supply pipe network renovation project, and completed the construction of two industrial key water-using enterprises; two groundwater level monitoring points achieved a year-on-year increase for the first three consecutive months, and the downward trend of groundwater level has significantly slowed down..." The two parties agreed to conduct a "follow-up review" during the spring plowing season, which led to the scene at the beginning of the article.

Source: Procuratorial Daily