The Punjab Environment Protection Agency (EPA) has introduced dedicated night patrols and drone surveillance to identify emission sources and detect stubble burning along key motorway corridors.
The enhanced monitoring forms part of Punjab’s preparations for the upcoming smog season.
Special teams are conducting nighttime checks in areas suspected of stubble burning, while drones are being used to locate pollution hotspots and identify violators. Enforcement personnel are then sent to the identified locations for necessary action.
EPA Punjab Director General Abdullah Nayyer Sheikh has instructed field teams to keep pollution sources under continuous observation and respond promptly to violations.
The campaign combines aerial monitoring, nighttime operations and on-ground enforcement to strengthen efforts against activities contributing to air pollution.
Over the past 24 hours, EPA teams inspected 431 brick kilns across the province. Five kilns were demolished, nine were sealed and nine FIRs were registered. Authorities also collected Rs1.4 million in fines.
The action against industrial pollution continued as well, with 269 industrial units inspected. Eleven units were sealed, one FIR was registered and penalties amounting to Rs1.23 million were imposed.
Officials carried out 309 inspections related to plastic violations, resulting in 17 sites being sealed and 1,297 kilogrammes of plastic being seized. Fines worth Rs148,000 were collected. In Lahore, 39 inspections led to 15 sealing actions, the seizure of 30kg of plastic and Rs60,000 in fines.
The EPA also inspected 17 construction sites for violations involving fugitive dust. One site was sealed, two other enforcement actions were taken and Rs20,000 in fines were imposed.
Inspections to ensure compliance with suction-hood requirements were also conducted across Punjab. A total of 245 establishments were checked, with 34 sealed and 55 enforcement actions related to suction hoods recorded.
Authorities imposed Rs211,500 in fines. In Lahore, 24 inspections resulted in nine seals, two suction-hood enforcement actions and Rs135,000 in penalties.
Sheikh directed officials to maintain uninterrupted surveillance and ensure immediate action against sources of pollution as Punjab enters the period of heightened smog risk.
The EPA said nighttime patrols and drone monitoring would supplement conventional daytime inspections, particularly in detecting stubble burning and other smoke-producing activities along major motorway routes.
The latest operation represents a technology-supported enforcement approach covering brick kilns, industries, plastics, construction activity and other pollution sources, with aerial surveillance and field teams operating together to identify and address environmental violations.
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