Environmental pollution: Punjab govt to follow Indian parameters for grading industrial sectors

LAHORE: The Punjab government will follow Indian parameters to classify industrial sectors for their contribution to environment pollution, said sources.

They said the government has hired a consultancy firm to carry out a comparative study of the industry classification in terms of their contribution to the pollution. Various industrial sectors had approached to the government through the forum of Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI).

The Chief Minister Punjab took notice of the complaint and instructed the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) to stop acting like a policeman and carry out a study regarding actual contribution of each industrial sector before sealing their manufacturing units in the name of environment protection.

The sources said the industrial stakeholders had pointed out in their representation that they were forced to bear colossal losses without assessing their contribution to the pollution.

According to the sources, the Punjab government has recently held a consultative meeting with the industry stakeholders in order to prepare a detailed draft for policy action. Representatives from 16 industrial sectors attended the meeting and put forward their input.

The power sector representatives said they were using best quality German engines to generate power along with the government-recommended fuel. But still the EPA was adamant to take action against them in the name of environment protection.

They said expulsion from the recommended fuel was not to that extent that the EPA should close down their operations. Therefore, a practical approach should be adopted in their case.

Similarly, representatives from the pharmaceutical industry made a point that their five days contribution to the pollution was equal to one day contribution made by the cement sector. But the department was treating them equally, resulting in millions of rupees loss per day.

Representatives from the sports industry said the football industry contribution was negligible but still the EPA was compelling it to close down operations soon after a drop in the temperature. The sources said the department of industries would determine pollution expulsion range in line with the parameters set by the Indian government for their industries.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022