LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Friday directed the Punjab government to make a 10-year policy to eradicate smog in the province.
The LHC judge Justice Shahid Karim heard the case related to air pollution in the provincial capital.
Punjab Advocate General Khalid Ishaq Khan appeared before the court. He informed the court that the provincial government will make ten-year long policy to cope smog on return of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz from London.
He told the court that the Punjab government had also allocated budget for electric buses in Punjab to reduce dependency on diesel-powered buses. The court said that introducing electric buses in the city is an excellent initiative.
During the hearing, he also informed the court the provincial government’s initiatives on food security.
The judge remarked that the government should ban the construction of housing societies on agricultural land.
The court also suggested the government to plant sand make it mandatory to install water treatment plants in 10 marla houses. The court suggested that government should plant saplings and conserve forests.
The court also directed to resubmit implementation reports on smog remediation measures next week. Meanwhile, the court asked the Punjab AG to assist court after studying the Beijing model on smog control.
Beijing model on smog
Beijing, crowned as a smog capital of the world, has taken a number of steps to reduce smog that lowered particle pollution in Beijing by more than 60% over the 10 years from 2013 to the end of 2022.
Steps taken to reduce smog in Beijing include:
Reducing coal consumption: Beijing restructured industrial sites and improved heating systems to reduce emissions
Limiting access for polluting vehicles: Established low-emission zones (LEZs) that encourage the use of new vehicles with tighter emissions controls and fuels were improved.
Incentivized new energy vehicles: Encouraged the adoption of newer, more environmentally friendly vehicles and provided incentives to scrap older and polluting vehicles.
Modernised the bus fleet: Updating the city’s bus fleet to be more environmentally friendly
License plate lotteries and driving bans: Using these measures to phase out polluting vehicles
Lahore AIQ remained ‘hazardous’ for 12th consecutive day
Meanwhile, Lahore air quality remained ‘hazardous’ for the 12th consecutive day on Friday, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) reaching 810, retaining its title of the world most populated city.
According to a report by IQAir, which tracks real-time data of air quality worldwide, the air quality index (AQI) in Lahore reached 810 at 8:30pm morning, making it the top-ranked city on the list of the most polluted city globally followed by Delhi with AQI 649.
