The central government looked into 33,000 cases of potential violations of environmental protection laws in 2016, according to data disclosed at a national environment work conference, as cited by state news outlet Xinhua.
Fines totaling 440 million yuan (US$63.6 million) were handed down, and 720 arrests were made.
The inspections took place in several provinces and municipalities, including Beijing and Shanghai.
The agency went on to state that the government refused 11 high-pollution and high-energy consuming projects in 2016, involving total investments of 97 billion yuan ($14 billion).
It also said that 4.05 million high emission vehicles were taken off China’s roads last year, which, in part, caused pollution levels to drop.
It comes just one week after smog levels in China reached historic levels, with as many as 32 cities under ‘red alert’ – the country’s most severe pollution warning. Two other red alerts in Beijing forced the closures of schools and factories in December, and half the city’s cars being banned from the roads.
