Given that the capital has been shrouded in heavy smog most of the winter, its rivers are polluted and garbage treatment capacity is inadequate, the Beijing municipal government announced on Thursday that a thorough cleanup of its environment is long overdue.

The cleanup drive will target air pollution, sewage, garbage and illegal constructions. Efforts will be made to further reduce the use of coal, monitor vehicular emission more strictly and increase the use of public transport. The municipal government will build 47 more water-recycling plants and upgrade 20 sewage treatment plants, ensuring that the sewage treatment rate reaches 90 percent by 2015. It will also take measures to guarantee that 70 percent of the city's garbage is disposed of either in incinerators or through bio-chemical means.

There is no reason to question the resolve of the Beijing government or the change the cleanup drive will bring about. But how did matters come to such a pass in the first place? The damage that the environment has suffered has not been caused in the short term. Lack of concern for the accumulated effects of environmental hazards, lax regulation and dereliction of duty on the part of watchdogs have all contributed to the deteriorating environment.