A huge fruit and vegetable greenhouse under construction in poverty-stricken Lindian county, Heilongjiang Province, has stirred outrages among local residents. The government-led project, set to provide near 60,000 jobs and generate annual profit of 5 billion yuan ($793 million), turned out to be an image-driven project with many problems, including occupying farmland and contracting unqualified constructors.
It was also found to have been initiated without consulting public opinion and undergoing scientific research, and to be built in saline-alkali soil unsuited to growing fruits or vegetables.
Such cases are not uncommon in China. These projects were launched because of some individual interests, not from the true demand of the local people. They not only destroy the image of the local government, but also waste taxpayers' money.
What made these projects go so consistently wrong? First, a lack of strict supervision and the proper management. The planned investment for the project in Lindian is 6.13 billion yuan. But the county's fiscal income is less than 30 million yuan.
For such a tremendous project, all the procedures like budget and construction should be seriously assessed and supervised. If both external supervision and group decisions are absent, projects intended to help people's well-being can easily go wrong. In order to intensify democracy and implement scientific decision-making, the law must be observed and strictly enforced.
The project in Lindian is also linked to the desire of local officials to seek political achievement. This is acceptable if channeled into the motivation to boost local economic development.
But if these projects become tools for promotion while neglecting local residents' real interests, the public ends up being hurt.
As a result, its essential to change the system of assessing officials' performance, taking all factors into account and examining the ground level. We can presume that if the project in Lindian had involved proper consultation with the locals and appropriate scientific advice, things would have turned out differently.
Shanghai Morning Post