LAHORE: Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif chaired a special meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Anti-Smog, during which several major decisions were taken to curb air pollution across the province.
The committee approved a ban on the production of petrol-powered motorcycle rickshaws, along with a phased plan to gradually end manufacturing of petrol motorcycles altogether. It was also decided that government departments in Punjab will now purchase only electric or hybrid vehicles and electric motorcycles.
Authorities briefed that a complete ban was imposed on washing vehicles with water at homes. In addition, the government plans to install colour-coded waste bins across Punjab in line with international standards.
The meeting resolved that strict action would be taken against any activity harming public health and environment. Authorities briefed that burning plastic or materials producing toxic smoke will incur severe penalties. Approval was granted for establishing multiple workshops through public-private partnership for continuous testing of vehicles emitting smoke beyond permissible limits.
Senior Provincial Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb briefed the meeting on ongoing efforts to combat smog and improve air quality.
Officials apprised that Punjab’s first state-of-the-art “Air Quality Monitoring Network” is now operational and “AQI Forecast System” allows timely prediction of smog and pollution levels. It was further briefed that use of smog guns significantly reduced pollution in targeted areas. They added that a comprehensive anti-pollution operation is underway across various districts. Authorities apprised that in Lahore and surrounding regions, incidents of crop burning dropped by 88 percent due to drone surveillance and satellite-based monitoring, adding that “Quick Response Centre” and “Force” have been established to take immediate action against stubble burning.
Officials concerned apprised that Pakistan’s first “Eco Chatbot,” along with a mobile application and public dashboard has also been launched. They briefed that currently, 41 air-quality monitors are functioning in 18 districts and an additional 100 sensors are scheduled for installation by next year, adding that Punjab’s first emission-testing system already tested 300,000 vehicles. Authorities concerned apprised that a Smog War Room has been set up at Punjab Safe Cities Authority (PSCA) for permanent environmental monitoring. They briefed that through 8,500 CCTV cameras, digital surveillance of industries, car-wash stations and dust hot spots is ongoing, adding that more than 450 polluting industrial units have been demolished and fines worth Rs 23 crore have been imposed.
Officials briefed that industrial environmental control measures such as CCTV installation, night monitoring systems and eight special night squads are now fully operational. They added that these squads have demolished over 100 units causing environmental damage. Additionally, 2200 brick kilns have been demolished and 2336 have been sealed. Authorities further briefed that Punjab launched its largest-ever campaign against plastic bags, with 26000 businesses pledging to stop using hazardous plastic. They apprised that a crackdown is underway against tire-burning, battery-burning and fat-melting facilities across the province, adding that citizens can lodge complaints through “Green Punjab app”, “1373 helpline” and “EcoWatch app”. Officials concerned briefed that awareness campaigns are ongoing in schools, colleges, universities and for the first time, “Punjab Green School Certification Programme” has been introduced in the province. They further apprised about reported major progress in tree-planting initiatives, adding that a green belt of 2.1 million trees has been established across 112-kilometre area around Lahore. Additional plantation includes 200,000 trees along Ring Road, 400,000 under “Lungs of Lahore” project, 15,000 in Hadyara, as well as large-scale plantation in 30 parks and along 40 kilometres of railway tracks.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.