The government of Wuhan, Hubei province, said it is willing to pay the migrant owners of charcoal-fueled roadside barbecue stores that return to their hometowns, according to a report in the Wuhan Evening News on Wednesday.

Last year, the city's urban management bureau issued a notice to ban roadside charcoal-fueled barbecue stalls in its urban area starting on Jan 1, 2013, in a bid to curb air pollution.

However, as of Jan 1, only 400 of about 1,000 stores had been closed due to law enforcement difficulties, said Zhu Jianhua, deputy director of Wuhan's urban management bureau.

To encourage the migrant workers to shut down the stores, the government is willing to buy their barbecue equipment, Zhu told the paper.

Barbecue stores in the city will only be allowed to continue operating if they use clean energy and they must also be in designated areas, Zhu added.

wangxiaodong@chinadaily.com.cn