Punjab’s Senior Minister, Marriyum Aurangzeb on Friday said that provincial government has zero-tolerance policy on smog.
While addressing a press conference in Lahore, Marriyum shared actions and precautions to reduce it during smog.
She also mapped Chief Minister (CM) Maryam Nawaz’s smog-reduction strategy and encouraged citizens to join the fight, especially in Lahore, where air quality is alarmingly low, with 275 hazardous days per year.
Discussing the government’s role and contributions in this regard, she further added, “Over 700 industrial units have been sealed, and around 700 brick kilns demolished in more than 15,000 raids.”
She said, “the government has adopted a zero-tolerance stance on non-compliant kilns, particularly those failing to adopt zig-zag technology, which significantly lowers emissions.”
While sharing the facts, she also mentioned, “thirty per cent of air pollution is coming from India due to wind direction.”
The Senior Minister stated, “smoke-emitting vehicles will be clamped using safe city cameras equipped with thermal identification systems to monitor high-pollution vehicles such as buses, trucks, cars, and bikes.”
Marriyum Aurangzeb also shared concerning data, revealing that green areas make up only 3.33 per cent of Lahore.
She mentioned that Lahore’s highest smog hotspots include areas such as Shahdara, Shadbagh, Garhi Shahu, Dharampura, Lower Mall, Islampura, Samanabad, Iqbal Town, Circular Road, and Shimla Pahari. In these regions, air quality index (AQI) levels constantly exceed safe limits.
The Punjab government has also introduced the GreenApp, which allows residents to report air quality issues and find alternative routes to avoid heavy traffic congestion.
Maryam said, “You can also call 1373 to report violations related to pollution.”
She added that the government has also mandated masks for students in schools to protect them from poor air quality.
Besides this, Aurangzeb expressed disappointment over paid media campaigns on this issue, requesting the media to join the government in spreading awareness. She also said that the public should take responsibility and act as responsible citizens.
Smog has become a major problem for Punjab, especially Lahore, in recent years due to increasing air pollution. This year too, Lahore has been consistently ranked as the most polluted city in the world for the past three days, with the AQI level reaching over 400.
