Official suspended over villa project near Longmen Grottoes

By Yang Lifei  |   2008-12-15  |     ONLINE EDITION

A SENIOR official was suspended in Luoyang City, Henan Province, after the local government confirmed the construction of a holiday village near the Longmen Grottoes, a renowned Buddhist World Heritage site, was illegal, according to People Daily.

An official notice by the Luoyang government said the illicit construction exposed serious loopholes in supervision work by Yichuan County's land use management bureau and construction bureau, which illegally granted construction approval to the project.

Dang Shuqin, director of the county's land use management bureau, was relieved of his post.

Another six officials involved in the project including Tang Jianpo, vice director of the county's construction bureau, and Pan Feng, deputy county director, were either sacked or received a discipline warning, the newspaper said.

Construction of the holiday village, consisting of 29 villas less than two kilometers from the Longmen Grottoes, was ordered to stop on Thursday and the government demanded demolition work be finished within three days. However, the report did not say whether the villas had been torn down yet.

Yang Xiaoyang, deputy secretary-general of the city's government, said in a previous interview with the newspaper that the Luoyang government is very cautious on approving construction projects near the grottoes. Yang said officials fear modern buildings could damage or pollute the surrounding environment. There is also a concern that the ancient grace of the grottoes could be ruined by modern architecture, the official added.

"According to the city's regulations on World Heritage protection, any construction in the area where the villas are located needs approvals from the city's urban planning bureau and cultural heritage bureau," said Yang. "However, the holiday village developer did not receive approval from either of the bureaus. So we can come to the conclusion that the buildings are illegal.''