The central Government's funding for poverty relief for this year will reach 24.5 billion yuan (HK$23 billion), party sources and officials said yesterday.
The Government also has asked local governments to submit their relief plans for the coming 10 years by the end of the year to prepare for future funding.
An official from the Poverty Relief and Development Office under the State Council said the funding would be increased annually.
The amount announced yesterday represented a slight increase from the 24 billion yuan spent by the central Government last year.
There are still 30 million people living below the official poverty line of 625 yuan a year.
To improve their living conditions, part of the Government's anti-poverty programme in the coming 10 years is to include resettling five to six million people who live in remote mountainous areas deemed unsuitable for human habitation.
A State Council official said the central Government wanted each province to design its own poverty programme to suit local needs.
