The Prevention and Control of Soil Pollution Action Plan was released on Tuesday. It has 10 chapters with 231 measures to prevent and control soil pollution.

The action plan, China's third national action plan to curb pollution after the ones aimed at tackling air and water pollution, targets soil deterioration, mainly in farmland and land plots for construction, and advances the goal of China's pollution prevention and control work for the first time.

According to the new action plan, China will curb soil pollution preliminarily by 2020. By that time China will basically guarantee the soil security of farmland and land plots for construction and basically control soil contamination risks.

The plan requires that 90 percent of farmland be made safe by 2020, and the percentage is expected to increase to 95 percent by 2030.

The long-term goal of China's soil pollution control is to completely improve the soil quality by the middle of this century.

The action plan also stipulates that governments at various levels are the main implementers of this plan, and should release specific soil pollution prevention and risk control plans in their regions by the end of 2016.

Local government officials will be held accountable for soil deterioration in local areas if they fail to prevent and control soil pollution.