Environment agency reports 3,303 industrial units without ECS in Punjab

LAHORE: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the Punjab Environment Department, in a report made public under the Access to Information Act, said that the total number of all types of industrial units in 36 districts of the province is 8,308, out of which only 5,005 industries have installed environment-friendly Environmental Control System (ECS) system, while 3,303 industrial units are still operating without it.

According to the documents available with “Jang,” the data released by the EPA on the application filed by Advocate Abdullah Malik under the Punjab Transparency and Right to Information Act 2013, states that out of a total of 1,749 units of all types of industries in Gujranwala, 1,237 have installed environmental control system, while 512 industrial units are operating without it. Similarly, out of 1,386 industrial units in Faisalabad, 1,106 have installed ECS system, while 280 industries are operating without it. In Multan, out of 496 industrial units, only 127 have installed the environment-friendly system.

According to the record of the EPA, there are only two districts in Punjab, Toba Tek Singh and Vehari, where all the industrial units have installed ECS. In Toba Tek Sindh, 178 units and in Vehari 56 units have installed these systems.

According to the documents, there are a total of 8,664 brick kilns in the province, out of which 8,013 have been converted to the zigzag technology, while 651 brick kilns are still operating according to the old method.

According to the report, brick kilns in 11 districts of the province have not yet been converted to zigzag technology. Only 51 out of 286 in Bahawalnagar district, 170 out of 320 in Muzaffargarh, 66 out of 150 in Rawalpindi, 150 out of 180 in Narowal and 295 out of 307 in Sheikhupura have been converted to zigzag technology.

According to the documents, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) conducted 14,859 inspections of various industrial units, issued notices to 5,230 industries, sealed 767, demolished 158, registered cases against 403 and imposed fines of Rs86,915,000 on various industries. The highest number of cases against industries were registered in Lahore (83), Gujranwala (72), Jhang (61), Faisalabad (53), Bahawalnagar (36), Kasur (24), Multan (13), Rahim Yar Khan (12), Sahiwal (9), DG Khan and Sargodha (8), Sheikhupura (6), Bahawalpur (5), Gujrat, Jhelum and Toba Tek Singh (1 each), Nankana Sahib and Okara (3 each) and Pakpattan and Vehari (2 each).