Provincial Minister for EPD M Rizwan said that awareness activities should be enhanced and much effort still needed to control the situation by all relevant departments.
The minister was chairing a high-level meeting of cabinet sub-committee on smog for implementations of anti-smog measures at S&GAD’s committee room of Civil Secretariat.
He said a comprehensive strategy should be adopted by all relevant departments for the abolishment of resource recovery units and to eliminate fuel adulteration points in Lahore. He directed the secretary EPD to make a proposal to initiate a committee to speed up cases of pending departmental inquiries.
Provincial Minister Industries Mian Aslam Iqbal and Chief Secretary Azam Suleman Khan also attended the meeting. EPD Secretary Zahid Hussain presented agenda of the 3rd meeting and briefed about follow up of actions taken in pursuance of decisions taken in the second meeting regarding the framework to ensure adherence to the timeline assigned for conversion of old technology brick kilns to zig-zag technology, installation of air pollution control systems in industries, controlling vehicular pollution, checking air pollution from stone crushing and cement mixing plants and installation of dust control systems. He also briefed that final time frame had been decided with brick kiln association as all brick kilns will be shifted to the latest technology till December 2020 in different steps.
He further said that different awareness drives being continued by EPA and 30 stone crushers of Margalla hills are being sealed on the directions of SC of Pakistan. Secretary Industries briefed to the house that a meeting held with Pakistan Re-Rolling Mills Association to get an action plan with timeline to curb violation of environmental laws.
