City in Hebei accused of collecting pollution fee  

河北安國曝每家收100元空氣污染費 與暖氣費綁定

25日，有網友向河北新聞網爆料稱，保定安國每家每戶收100元空氣污染費，綁定暖氣費一起收。記者與安國市政府辦一位工作人員核實了解到，今年首次按戶收取空氣污染費，每戶100元。[查看全文]

(ECNS) -- A city in Beijing's neighboring Hebei province was accused of collecting fees for air pollution from each household, hebnews.cn reported.

A netizen in Anguo city, a county-level city under the administration of Hebei's Baoding city, said on Monday that he was asked to pay 100 yuan ($16.40) for air pollution when paying his heating bill. His relatives and friends also paid the fees, he said, and wondered why citizens are paying the bill, as the government has offered financial rewards to fight pollution.

The local urban construction bureau, which is in charge of the heating system, said they didn't know about the fee.

A staffer from city government said the city started collecting the fees this year, 100 yuan a year for each household, like trash fees. But he didn't reveal what the fees would be used for.

The central government said last month it is offering 5 billion yuan ($818 million) in financial rewards to Beijing and its neighboring provinces to fuel their fight against air pollution, according to Xinhua News Agency.

The Ministry of Finance announced that the special budget is up for grabs among Beijing, Tianjin and the surrounding areas of Hebei, Shanxi and Shandong provinces as well as the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, where the air quality did not meet national standards for nearly two-thirds of August.