ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Climate Change on Wednesday took notice of delay in conversion of brick kilns to Zig-Zag Technology and asked the federal government to take immediate steps expedite this process.

Presided over by Sitara Ayaz, the committee meeting expressed concern over delay in the conversion of brick kilns to Zig-Zag Technology.

According to reports, the Zig-Zag Technology allows to efficiently manoeuvre the air for heating purposes and causes the kilns to emit white smoke with low air pollution levels. It is widely claimed that the use of Zig-Zag Technology in construction and operations of kilns can minimise the effects of burning coal on environment and reduce the fuel consumption up to 30 per cent.

"The Capital should be a flagship for all the provinces to follow in the implementation of Zig-Zag Technology," the committee chairperson said during the meeting.

The officials of the Ministry of Climate Change led by Minister of State for Climate Change Zartaj Gul Wazir briefed the committee regarding the challenges in the implementation of Zig-Zag technology. The committee was briefed that the kiln owners are facing difficulty to convert to Zig-Zag Technology as most land on which kilns are established is leased. "The problems faced by small and medium size kilns are even more intense since most of these enterprises are based in an informal setting and fear being brought into the tax net and other regulatory procedures. Zig-Zag Technology requires 24/7 electricity supply and the areas where these brick kilns operate are faced with 20-22 hours of power outage. Dedicated transmission lines are imperative for this purpose. The COVID-19 situation and heavy rainfall are other impediments that have delayed the process," the minister said.

In Islamabad, 10 out of 63 kilns 10 have already been converted to Zig-Zag Technology, she added.

The committee recommended that a phased approach be adapted in this regard and legislation to penalize brick kiln owners that fail to adapt Zig-Zag Technology within a given time frame must be formulated as well. Discussing the plight of animals at Islamabad Zoo, the committee took strong notice of recent deaths of lions and ostriches and said that this matter must be probed in detail. "The animals in Islamabad Zoo are dying and deprived of their basic needs to survive but the administration of the zoo is showing its traditional bureaucratic attitude coupled with criminal negligence. These officials must be proceeded against," the committee members stressed upon government.

The committee was also briefed about a landmark decision issued by the Islamabad High Court to uncage the animals and set them free.

Reviewing the issue of vehicular emissions in Islamabad and measures to curb it, the committee stressed the need for legislation to be formulated from the government side to ensure smoke free environment in Islamabad.

The committee took strong notice of delay in implementation of the Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOF) project in Pakistan.

The committee also reviewed the Islamabad Wildlife (protection, Preservation and Management) (Amendment) Bill 2020, which was deferred till the next meeting.

Muhammad Ali Saif, Samina Saeed, Sherry Rehman, Sana Jamali, Faisal Javed and others attended the meeting.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020