Pleas against closure of kilns dismissed

LAHORE : The Lahore High Court on Thursday dismissed petitions challenging the closure of brick kilns owing to prevailing spell of smog.

Several owners of the brick kilns pleaded in the petitions that Environment Protection Agency (EPA) ordered shutting down their kilns on the pretext of causing air pollution. The petitioners’ counsel argued that the closure of the brick kilns was in sheer violation of the Constitution, which guaranteed the right to do lawful business. He stated that the agency randomly shut down brick kilns of the petitioners on pretext of causing smog. He said no survey had been carried out before shutting down the kilns.

The counsel asked the court to strike down the decision of the EPA and allowed the petitioners to resume working of their kilns in order to protect their fundamental rights. However, the court dismissed the petitions for being not maintainable.