Committee submits recommendations in LHC as Lahore remains most polluted city

Lahore: A committee formed by the Lahore High Court (LHC) has submitted its recommendations to address the smog issue as Lahore once again topped the air quality and pollution ranking index in the world on Friday.

According to details, the Lahore High Court heard a petition regarding prevailing smog and air pollution in the city. Focal persons Judicial Water Commission High Court and Chief Traffic Officer appeared before the Lahore court.

During the court proceedings, the Judicial Water and Environment Commission has submitted its report to the court. The report has recommended numerous steps to ensure the smooth flow of vehicles in Lahore to address the prevailing air pollution in Lahore.

The report further suggested that unnecessary parking areas should be removed from the city, while fines should be slapped over the people running this business. It also proposed that Anti-encroachment operations should be carried out while strict action should be taken against the violators of the traffic laws.

The report has recommended increasing fine money and the driver license should be declared mandatory for the driving.

On the other hand, smog has continued to engulf major cities of Punjab as the ranking of Air Quality Index (AQI) has reached 424 today.

Air pollution has worsened in Pakistan in recent years, as a mixture of low-grade diesel fumes, smoke from seasonal crop burn off, and colder winter temperatures coalesce into stagnant clouds of smog. Lahore, a bustling megacity of more than 11 million people in Punjab province near the border with India, consistently ranks among the worst cities in the world for air pollution.

It is pertinent to remember that the Judicial Environmental Commission in its report, has recommended closure of the schools in areas having AIR Quality Index rating at 400. The Commission has recommended shutdown of industrial units in area having 500 rating at the AQI. Declaration of a state of emergency has also been recommended to control smog and environmental pollution.