The Legal Office of Beijing Municipal Government is currently collecting suggestions from the community for a new noise management law in the city.
Dong Jinhu, chief of the Noise Section of the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau, says that the new measure has added detailed stipulations about the amount of fines to be levied from those making raucous noise. For example, construction work done at night must be licensed and a notice must be given to the local residents three days in advance, or else the work will be stopped and companies fined up to RMB200,000.
In addition, restaurants, entertainment venues and manufacturing places that may produce noise are not allowed to be set inside residential buildings, and the property management department of the buildings should be responsible for managing the noise inside the area, or they may be fined as well.
The current noise management measure in Beijing was issued in 1984 and modified in 1997. As there are more and more environmental problems, Dong says it is necessary to have a better method. Dong says that the new method may be implemented at the end of this year.
