The standing committee of the Ruzhou municipal people's congress has introduced a series of measures to improve people's livelihood in the city of Ruzhou, Central China's Henan province.

The standing committee focused on agricultural product safety, one of the most fundamental concerns of everyday life.

Agricultural product quality and safety

Starting May 2013, a three-month investigation on the enforcement of The Quality and Safety of Agricultural Products Law was carried out by the standing committee of the Ruzhou municipal people’s congress within the city. Many measures, including reports, on-the-spot investigations, questionnaires and sampling, were applied during the investigation, with a focus on common vegetables, grains and fruit.

Results and deliberation were handed to the municipal government and corresponding units. In response, the city’s government further optimized the inspection system for agricultural product quality and safety and invested 2.26 million yuan ($372,900) towards testing equipment. The construction of agricultural product safety supervision stations were promoted at the county, township and street levels. Major agricultural production and marketing sites, including green vegetable production bases, supermarkets and farmers markets, were required to test for pesticide residue.

Related policies and regulations were also made based on an investigation to strengthen agricultural product safety.

Water pollution prevention and control

Following an inspection on the enforcement of The Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law, the standing committee has deliberated on existing problems related to water pollution, acting as a watchdog to ensure the public receives updated feedback.

Inspection of water safety testing equipment operation and sample surveys to small and medium-sized reservoirs, water plants and water users were carried out at the same time.

The municipal government has taken efficient measures in response to the standing committee’s work on water pollution prevention and control. A total of over 2 million yuan was invested towards a full set of water monitoring equipment, which can test 42 indexes for drinking water quality in accordance with county-level standards. The old water pipes in the city were also reconstructed, and a new water plant was built. Stricter supervision is also being carried out at surrounding water resources and reservoirs.

Education

In order to get an objective and comprehensive view of the city’s education, the standing committee of the municipal people’s congress of Ruzhou conducted research on the city’s education situation starting last September. It will make a systematic research report, considering both overall views and specific problems. The report will be handed to the local government.

The standing committee meanwhile followed up the process of its deliberation on pre-school education. The feedback showed that effective measures were taken in kindergarten construction, reconstruction, expansion and student admission by the municipal government, with investment totaling 29.79 million yuan. Four public kindergartens have been built in the last year. Letters and calls handling

A responsibility system has been implemented by the standing committee of the Ruzhou municipal people’s congress. In addition, work procedure operations have been improved with more specific responsibilities. In 2013, Ruzhou received and handled 486 letters and calls from the public, together with 27 more letters and calls been handed down from the standing committee of the people’s congress at a higher level. The standing committee has taken an active role in solving conflicts in the city’s harmonious development.