GDP must not be at cost of environment

Photo taken on Jan 1, 2015 shows an apartment project in Huzhou, East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/Xinhua]

IN JULY 2013, Broad Group held a ceremony in Changsha, Central China's Hunan province, to mark the laying of a cornerstone for a proposed 838-meter tower that would be taller than the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, which it said would be built within seven months. However, the reality is, even today the piece of land where it was said to be standing on has become a fishing pond. Beijing Times comments:

Many people are asking whether buying the land was a waste of money. Actually, more problems are involved, such as the land was acquired from local villagers, but it has not been used as promised; should the company return the land?

Also, the law forbids companies to run construction programs without environmental impact assessments. The Environmental Protection Bureau in Changsha said it has never received any document from the Broad Group applying for an environmental assessment, which echoes some previous reports that the proposed development is illegal and hasn't gained the necessary approval.

There are wetlands near the building plot, and the law forbids the construction of buildings over 40 meters near wetlands, so even if the company had applied for an environmental assessment, it would not have passed.

Reports show local officials publicly expressed their support for the project, while some officials even attended the foundation laying ceremony. The building plan of Broad Group should be a lesson to all local government officials never to blindly pursue GDP at the cost of the environment again.