( CNN ) -- China has relaxed its strict birth-control restrictions for families that lost children in a mudslide that killed hundreds in the northwest last year , state media reported Friday . Women in the Zhouqu area who underwent procedures to prevent further pregnancies such as having their fallopian tubes tied can now have a free reverse operation , the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported . Liang Jianjun , head of Zhouqu 's family planning bureau , said women from 27 families have had such operations . `` Some of these women are pregnant now , '' he is quoted as saying by Xinhua . China enforces a strict family-planning policy that limits most families in urban areas to only one child , although those in the countryside and certain ethnic areas are allowed more . In Zhouqu , rural families can have two children , while those in five Tibetan-dominated towns and villages can have three , Xinhua reported . The easing of government restrictions means families who lost children in the mudslide can now have more to fill the `` quotas , '' a government official told the news service . The mudslide in August last year left more than 1,700 people dead or missing in Zhouqu County , in northwestern Gansu province , Xinhua said . Thousands of homes collapsed or were damaged in the disaster , which followed weeks of heavy rains and flooding . China 's three-decade-old population control policy is controversial . Some critics have urged Beijing to relax it , saying it has skewed China 's population and that better-off families have been able to bribe officials into allowing them more children .
Restrictions are eased so families that lost children can have more , he says . Women are offered free operations to reverse birth - control pills . A mudslide last year in Zhouqu county left more than 100 people dead or missing . China enforces strict family size controls to limit its population growth .