BEIJING - China's ministries of supervision and water resources on Wednesday ordered local departments to increase supervision of water conservation projects in order to guarantee agricultural production and public interests.

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A circular jointly issued by the two ministries said that public finance should play a key role in the development of water conservation.

The circular pushed efforts to examine water conservation projects'  public bidding, contracts, fund usage and security management and to crack down on corruption.

"Officials meddling in water conservation projects and seeking profits, accepting bribes or being accused of dereliction of duty should be severely dealt with," the circular said.

It encouraged the strengthening of irrigation and conservation projects and the reinforcement of dangerous reservoirs to "ensure agricultural output and food safety."

Infrastructure building for water conservation projects should be accelerated to guarantee economic and social development, as well as improve the environment, the circular said.