LAHORE: The Commissioner Lahore office has decided to form vigilance committees to prevent the burning of crop residues between October and November. These committees would be established at village level and strict action would be taken against the stubble burners.

This was decided during a meeting that was chaired by Commissioner Lahore Zaid bin Maqsood on Wednesday to review anti-smog planning. District Commissioner Lahore Rafia Haider, EPA DG Imran Hamid, Punjab Safe City Authority CEO Ahsan Younis, CTO Lahore Amara Athar, PHA DG Tahir Wattoo, TEPA Chief Engineer Iqrar Hussain, LWMC CEO Babar Sahibdin and other senior officials attended the meeting.

The Commissioner pointed out that smog and tree cover have an inverse relationship and thus, the tree cover in the city would be increased. He added that the police officers would team up with the environmental officers for the operations against the people contributing to smog. “At the district level, the senior police officer would be the focal person,” he added.

He further said that to control smog in the division all pyrolysis plants must be demolished as per the court orders, adding that brick kilns would be permitted to operate after transferring to the anti-smog technology. He observed that vehicles were among the major causes of smog and thus, no relaxation would be given during the vehicle fitness inspection. “Zero tolerance should be adopted against the violators and action would be taken against smoke emitting vehicles.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024