The Henan provincial government shut down a paper factory found to have discharged polluted water into farmland.

The Dongfeng Paper Factory in Xinxiang city's Fengquan district was discharging unprocessed waste water into nearby farmland when a law enforcement squad from the environmental protection bureau inspected the region on Monday afternoon, the Henan Business Daily reported on Wednesday.

The gray-colored waste water flowed into nearly 6 hectares of wheat farmland. It left a thick layer of waste deposit after the water evaporated in some places, said the report.

Pan Kangping, manager of the factory, said that he had signed a contract with the village officials, which allows him to discharge the waste water into the farmland as a means of irrigation.

However, a 61-year-old villager surnamed Zhang told the newspaper that the underground water has been pumped out by the factory and that the farmers had no other choice but to allow the factory to discharge the waste water into their land.

Zhang said that most of the villagers plan to sell the crops after harvest because they are afraid to eat the grains, said the report.