According to a recent report by the State Environmental Protection Administration, 93.8 percent of polluters required to clean up their act had not done so, while more than two-thirds of polluting enterprises due to be shut down were still operating, the China Daily reported.

Some 35 per cent of major pollution treatment programs approved and budgeted for the dam project had also not been started, it added.

The agency this week issued an urgent circular demanding immediate action to address the issue.

"Progress of pollution treatment projects in the Three Gorges Project area is not as smooth as planned," the paper quoted the agency as saying.

Environmental concerns have dogged the 22 billion dollar dam project for years, with anti-dam organizations like the Canadian-based Three Gorges Probe group warning that the 436 kilometer (260 miles) long reservoir could turn into a giant cesspool if locals continue to dump waste into the Yangtze river.

Water quality in the Chongqing section in the upper reaches of the reservoir had deteriorated since the reservoir began filling up last year, the Chongqing Morning Post reported last month.

TERRA.WIRE