Lahore High Court (LHC) instructed the government to close schools in the provincial capital for at least three days a week as Punjab declared an environmental emergency due to smog.
Chief Minister Parvez Elahi called smog a ‘calamity’ and ordered a plan to minimise it and control its causes.
The Environment Protection Department (EPD), transport, and industry agencies should go on the field, the CM stated. Failure to apply SOPs to minimise smog would not be permitted. He said those who burn crop residues should face “indiscriminate action.”
The anti-smog team should constantly check smoke-emitting vehicles in the city to reduce violations, he said. The anti-smog team should examine automobiles at Lahore’s entrances. The CM would give farmers a new harvester to eliminate crop waste. All brick kilns should use zigzag technology, he said.
The Punjab Environment Protection Council discussed car-free zones in Lahore and traffic days, APP said. More trees with huge leaves were also proposed to help reduce the dust in the city’s air.
The council proposes banning vehicles older than 30 years from October to December in Lahore and encouraging electrified public transport.
Minister Basharat Raja said electric vehicle restrictions should be removed.
The council advised limiting Punjab industry to estates and parks.
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