Amraiz Khan
The Punjab cabinet’s standing committee on smog on Tuesday proposed a ban on the use of Euro 2 Oil in the provincial metropolis for a period of one month. The committee also deferred the proposed three-day closure of schools in this regard.
The committee’s members recommended that environment friendly Oil Euro 5 should be used in vehicles instead of Euro 2 for a specific period.
During a meeting, it was unanimously agreed that schools could be closed in case the situation goes worst in future.
Meanwhile, the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday expressed displeasure over inadequate steps taken by the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) to control smog in Lahore.
The court ordered PDMA DG Raja Mansoor to devise a smog emergency plan and submit in the court on Thursday (November 18).
LHC directed PDMA DG to devise the plan in collaboration with the Lahore commissioner, the DG environment and chairman Environmental Commission.
During hearing, the Judicial Environmental Commission’s focal person, submitted its report in the court along with images of the provincial capital’s atmosphere taken from the satellite which showed highest pollution levels.
The report showed that the Punjab government had failed to take action against those burning stubble of cotton and wheat crops in the province.
Azhar Siddique Advocate, representing Haroon Farooq and Judicial Activism Panel, the petitioners in the case, informed Justice Shahid Kareem that brick kilns were still operating in the vicinity of Lahore and the crops’ residue is also being burnt openly.
“The smog is increasing with each passing day due to which people are falling sick, but the provincial government is not bothered,” he added.
The court remarked that the government officials while sitting in their offices only paying lip service to the issue of smog. The bench regretted that Lahore has been turned into a most polluted city in the world.
The court in a previous hearing showed resentment over the stubble burning despite the ban in the wake of smog to control environmental pollution.
The court had also ordered immediate arrest of the people involved in stubble burning in the province and also ruled to shut down the projects which are not environment friendly.
The LHC directed that the chief secretary and Punjab IG Police should ensure to prevent stubble burning to keep the environment clean.
The court had last month, ordered a crackdown on smoke emitting factories in Gujranwala and Sheikhupura after a report of the Environmental Commission submitted in the court.
The Environmental Commission in its report had stated that environmental pollution has increased to an alarming level in Gujranwala and Sheikhupura.
