Precaution against smog: Environment dept to issue e-challans to smoky vehicles

LAHORE:Environment Protection Department (EPD) Punjab has planned to issue e-challans to smoky vehicles as a precaution against upcoming smog season.

This was revealed by the newly-appointed Environment Protection Department (EPD) Punjab Secretary Syed Mubashir Hussain while talking to The News. “Besides industrial pollution, transport is contributing 43 percent to smog and this is why the department has taken tough decisions,” he said.

The EPD secretary said he has already directed the district officers (Environment) that no negligence will be tolerated and smoky vehicles will be checked daily. He said Lahore will be on priority list of the department and a EPD team will visit Safe City Authority’s monitoring room to spot smoke-emitting vehicles through cameras and issue e-challans to those vehicles. To a question, he said that EPD had chalked out a massive plan to deal with smog.

Mubashir Hussain said campaigns will also be launched in other big cities where Safe City Authority’s surveillance cameras were installed while on ground campaigns against smoky vehicles will be launched in the cities where cameras were not present.

Heavy fines will be imposed and vehicles will be impounded exceeding PEQS of emissions, he said. The secretary visited various city areas along with District Officer Lahore’s squad and traffic police officials and inspected a number of vehicles. He directed Lahore’s DO (Environment) Ali Ijaz that not a single element contributing to smog including industries or transport should be spared. He said specials teams would be constituted to inspect HTV and other vehicles and he himself would check progress on daily basis.

Earlier, a meeting was held at EPA head office under chairmanship of Minister Environment Muhammad Rizwan and Director General, EPA, Punjab Ambreen Sajjad in which all District Officers Environment (DOE) Punjab were present. During the meeting, the DOEs were assigned special tasks to deal with upcoming span of smog. They were asked to compile report of their respective districts with details of industrial units and submit report of each action taken against industries and kilns.

A special inspection team has also been constituted comprising three members. The team will cross verify the data of the reports, which will be submitted by the DOEs and

in case of any false information or misleading data the officer concerned will be punished.

As per data presented in the meeting, around 177 units have been issued EPOs (Environmental Protection Orders) during the past eight months and more than 600 notices have been issued on various environmental violations during anti-smog checking.

Talking to The News, Secretary Syed Mubashir Hussain said presently the department was using all its resources and manpower to tackle smog related issues. He said during smog period no violator would be spared and only those industries would be allowed to operate, which have installed precautionary equipment to handle their smoke.