Court Hearing: LHC to take up plea against smog

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court will take up Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s petition against haphazard development of Lahore on November 7. The Imran Khan-led party has claimed the ongoing uplift projects are to blame for the thick cloud of smog that has enveloped Lahore since last week. In his petition, PTI leader Waleed Iqbal claimed the smog has emerged because trees have been chopped to make way for the ongoing uplift projects, especially the Orange Line project. The plaintiff said the smog affected around 10 million people but the government failed to take any concrete measure to control it. Iqbal stated Lahore had been included in the list of world’s most polluted cities. He added the illegal factories functioning in Lahore were one of the major contributors to pollution in Lahore’s atmosphere. He requested the court to order the government to take appropriate measures to control rising pollution and to clean up the atmosphere. LHC Chief Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah will hear the petition.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 6^th, 2016.