Returning graveyards to farmland in Zhoukou started in June this year but the plan has been under consideration by local authorities since October 2011. About 3.4 million of tombs have been wrecked this year.

"We will start to give a bonus to those who have done impressive jobs removing tombs and those who build public cemeteries. We will not give up the plan just because there were some online debates," Hu told the Legal Daily.

"The campaign is just an excuse to take over the land. The money they use to compensate locals and give bonuses to officials all come from the sale of land," Zheng said.

In Shangshui county, a pilot region for Zhoukou's three-year tomb-removal plan, officials who fail to complete their assignment can face dismissal, the Legal Daily reported.