BEIJING, March 29 (Xinhua) -- China is holding 1,048 people in seven provincial-level regions accountable for environmental damage, following investigation by central authorities, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) said Thursday.

Of the total, three ministry-level officials from northwest China's Gansu Province were held responsible for environmental damage in the Qilian Mountains, after central inspectors conducted a second round of environmental inspections from November to December 2016, according to MEE.

At the same time, 159 department-level officials were held accountable.

Those held accountable were admonished, given Party disciplinary or administrative punishment.

The inspected regions were Beijing, Shanghai, Hubei, Guangdong, Chongqing, Shaanxi and Gansu.

A total of 135 people were held accountable in local environmental departments.

Hubei held 221 officials accountable, more than any other region, while Gansu held the most department-level officials responsible.

The inspections are part of China's campaign to fight pollution and environmental degradation as decades of growth have left the country with smog, polluted water and contaminated soil.

Tackling pollution is one of the "three tough battles" that China aims to win in the next three years.