Leading coal mine officials must now regularly enter dangerous mineshafts according to a newly issued document by the General Administration of Work Safety.
All levels of government should enact detailed regulations to guarantee the smooth implementation of the compulsory task. Regulations should be reported to the GAWS, said an official.
GAWS appealed for tougher penalties on operators responsible for deadly coal mine accidents, blaming them for focusing on money instead of workers' lives.
The new move is aimed at uncovering safety risks in coal mines and improving officials' and miners' safety awareness.
The administration ordered lower level branches to supervise the new policy and record the operation.
It also delivered a detailed regulation of the country's leading coal producer Shanxi Province to all provincial branches for reference.
The regulation issued by the Shanxi Provincial Coal Industrial Bureau stipulates top officials of coal mines must make three inspection tours of shafts each month. Deputy officials who are in charge of production, safety and mining equipment must enter the shaft at least four times and deputy chief engineers must visit shafts at least five times a month.
Repeated disasters have exposed many management flaws in domestic coal mines including poor safety measures, old equipment and lax safety procedures.
The central government is determined to take tough measures to punish those public servants charged with negligence and corruption. After a deadly accident in Liaoning Province, the State Council meeting chaired by Premier Wen Jiabao on February 23 suspended the post of Liaoning Deputy Governor Liu Guoqiang, who was responsible for industry and work safety.
In order to intensify efforts in work safety supervision, the State Council will devote 3 billion yuan (US$360 million) to renovations at state-owned coal mines.
The central government also sent supervision teams to 45 major coal mines with serious gas problems and invited colliery safety experts to evaluate the situation at coal mines with potential risks.
The central government has tripled compensation for the families of miners who die in accidents. The usual 30,000 yuan to 80,000 yuan payment was raised to 200,000 yuan.
Meanwhile, rescuers announced on Saturday they had ended the search for a missing miner, 10 days after a fluorite mine flooding in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
The accident occurred at the Jinfeng Fluorite Mine in Chifeng city on March 31, when water inundated a 750-meter-long shaft passage. Nine miners were in the passage and only one escaped.
"The body of the eighth victim was nowhere to be found," said Wang Shihua, deputy director of the rescue headquarters.
The seven bodies that were retrieved were at the city's funeral home and are being identified by their families.
(Xinhua)