China's central government has moved to retrieve all reusable disaster relief items in order to stockpile materials for future emergencies.

The government issued provisional regulations making local governments responsible for the collection and management of goods, warning the theft or wasteful disposal of items would incur punishment.

The government has been promoting the efficient use of relief goods to avoid waste and the shortages of items such as tents and mobile shelters.

The rules applied to goods organized, purchased, requisitioned, and transferred by government departments, and public donations received by governments or managed by government departments, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

The regulations, posted on the ministry's website on Monday, did not detail penalties for those charged with stealing, damaging or discarding goods.

"Units or individuals who damage and waste disaster relief goods as a result of dereliction of duty will also face punishment or face criminal charges," read the regulations.

In China, the theft of goods designated for disaster relief, poverty aid or relocation compensation can lead to criminal prosecution.

Those who steal relief goods worth 50,000 yuan (US$7,300) to 100,000 yuan can face up to five years in prison.

Government and civil affairs departments above county level are required to keep goods, which include movable toilets, water filtering facilities and rescue tools such as dredgers and shovels.

Medical equipment, pharmaceuticals, communication facilities, and generators are all listed as reusable in the regulations.

The government would reserve some of the relief goods, such as tents and movable shelters in case of further emergencies, while the rest would be managed as state assets and transferred to units that have bought them or units listed as donation recipients.

Tents were in urgent need in the southwest China quake zone after May 12 earthquake. President Hu Jintao visited two tent manufacturers in east Zhejiang Province in late May, urging them to produce as many as possible to shelter millions left homeless by the disaster.

About 1.58 million tents had been sent to the areas as of Monday, according to the ministry.

The rules, which are aimed at increasing transparency in disaster relief work, require management authorities to publish information on the storage and reuse, and put the process under public scrutiny.

(Xinhua News Agency August 13, 2008)