Secretary Environment Protection Department Dr Zafar Nasrullah has said that brick kilns in 'red zone' areas comprising Lahore, Gujranwala and some parts of Sahiwal will be completely closed down from November 4 due to expected hyper danger of smog in Punjab.
Presided over by Provincial Minister for Labor and Human Resource Ansar Majeed Khan on Friday, the secretary revealed this in a meeting which was held to deliberate over the issue of closure of brick kilns in Punjab due to expected phenomenon of smog next month.
Addressing the meeting, the Minister said no zigzag brick kiln will be closed down by the Punjab government in the province due to expected phenomenon of smog. He said the demand of bricks will greatly increase in forth coming days with the start of Prime Minister's "Apna Ghar" project and job opportunities for the brick kilns workers will be enhanced as well. The brick kiln owners should convert their kilns to zigzag technology for non-stop and comparatively more profitable functioning of their business, he suggested.
"All the brick kiln owners should get their kilns and workers registered with the Punjab Employees Social Security Institution (PESSI) so as to facilitate their workers from health care and related social security cover. Strict action will be taken against the brick kiln owners who will not register their business with the PESSI," he warned.
The secretary environment while briefing the participants of the meeting said no brick kilns will be closed down in 'green zone' areas comprising Southern Punjab which will not be affected from the smog whereas some areas of 'yellow zone' will kept under strict observation and only be closed if affected from the smog.
Dr. Zafar Nasrullah said as the brick kilns functioning on zigzag technology do not cause the reasons for smog; therefore, they will remain open. On this, the Minister said the Punjab government will promote brick kilns with zigzag technology as these cause less smog and can supply bricks throughout the year with best quality bricks.
The Minister announced that the brick kilns owners will be facilitated with soft loans by the Bank of Punjab (BoP) for transfer of brick kilns to zigzag technology. He hoped that 80 percent brick kilns will be transferred to pollution-free zigzag technology till next season.
He also ordered the DG Headquarter PESSI to ensure registration of the brick kilns and its workers so that they could be provided the facilities of R-V cards and related social security facilities. For the purpose, the labour department will convert all its services for labour community on "one window operation" with online facilities linked with central office, he added. DG Labor Welfare Punjab Farooq Hameed Sheikh informed that nearly 10,000 brick kilns are functional in the province and they have so far registered over 6500 brick kilns and 290,000 workers with the department.
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