Smog’s return puts question mark on EPA’s performance

The moment the winter season is on the horizon, like clockwork, smog starts engulfing many of the country’s most populated cities, particularly Punjab’s capital, which has time and again been labelled as one the the most polluted cities in the world.

As per environmental experts, this winter like every other winter season, air pollution in Lahore will rise to record and unbearable levels - so much so that respiratory diseases will start developing in a significant number of the city’s roughly 12 million population when the mercury drops.

Residents of Lahore are already wary of the problem and are disappointed that toxic air will again become a daily occurrence in their life. Syed Faizan Gilani, a long-term resident of the city, while talking to The Express Tribune, said that he was surprised that the government had not managed to curb environmental pollution to date. “This goes to show that the government’s policies and measures for preventing pollution are inadequate,” Gilani remarked. Another resident, Zille Huma, concurring with Gilani’s views, questioned the government’s priorities.

“Despite having so many resources, their strategy to combat the smog has failed miserably. We have to breathe this toxic air all year round and no one seems to care.” Aleem Butt, an environmentalist, believes that the unhealthy air has become a regular part of their lives because the root causes of pollution are never focused upon.

“About 50% of air pollution is spread by smoke emissions from vehicles while 25% of the remainder is caused due to substandard fuel used in industries. Similarly, 15 to 20% of pollution is generated from the agricultural sector,” Butt informed, adding that unless the government tackles such mega polluters, smog was here to stay.

Director Punjab Environment Protection Agency (EPA), Naseem Rehman, when asked about the lack of measures being taken to curtail air pollution, replied, “This year EPA has started taking measures beforehand as we have constituted seven anti-smog squads on the directives of Chief Minister Punjab.” Rehman further informed that the squads were responsible for inspecting factories and mills and issuing fines to those that did not have emission monitoring systems installed.

“The squad will also regularly check smog-emitting vehicles in the city and take indiscriminate action against one’s emitting more than the prescribed limit.” The Express Tribune also spoke with Ali Ejaz, in-charge of the anti-smog squad in Lahore, to inquire about his team’s role in combating pollution. “My team scans the air on a daily basis and whichever factory or manufacturing unit is found to be transmitting toxic fumes, we take action against them.”

However, Ahmed Rafay Alam, an environment protection lawyer, is of the view that such measures look good only on paper.

“The anti-smog squad is only a show off measure. Environmental protection government agencies challan various factories and vehicles only for a short while to appease the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister, Another motive for such cosmetic measures is to answer the courts’ queries about the steps being taken to address environmental pollution,” Alam opined while talking to The Express Tribune.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 13^th, 2022.