Smog may shut markets early

Govt informs LHC of prolonged weekends in schools, offices

LAHORE:

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday hinted at issuing directives to shut down the markets in the provincial capital at 10pm daily in addition to complete closure on Sunday due to smog.

LHC Justice Shahid Karim directed the Lahore deputy commissioner to hold meetings with traders in this regard and submit a report. The judge was hearing several petitions about how smog could be controlled, the environment could be made pollution-free and groundwater could be saved from wastage.

The relevant officials updated the court about a decision to keep the private and government schools in Lahore closed for three days a week.

They said private offices and sub-offices would also remain shut for two days in the week.

Earlier in the day, the Punjab education department had announced the closure of all in the Lahore district every Friday and Saturday till further notice due to smog.

A notification issued by the education department stated that the decision of school closure for additional days had been taken in compliance with the directions of the LHC. A copy of the notification was also submitted to the court during the hearing.

The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) also issued a notification announcing the closure of private offices for two days in a week on Friday and Saturday. The order will remain in force from December 7 to January 15. The notification added that the staffers might work from home during the period.

The court also increased the fine over stubble burning in fields from Rs50,000 to Rs200,000.

Justice Karim observed that the registration of FIRs was not the only solution to stop stubble burning.

An environment commission member told the court that 153 incidents of stubble burning had been reported during the past five days.

Justice Karim remarked that the majority of cases of stubble burning were being reported in Okara. The deputy commissioner of the district told the court that criminal cases had been registered against 151 people who had been found involved in setting ablaze the remnants of crops.

The LHC also directed the Punjab government to enforce a smog emergency and call a meeting to take appropriate precautionary measures to bring under control the environmental hazard.

Meanwhile, Punjab Relief Commissioner Zahid Akhtar Zaman said the decision to keep the offices of private companies closed for two days a week had been made under and Section 4 of the Punjab National Climate (Provision and Relief) Act of 1958.

As per the notification, all the offices of private organisations working within the limits of Lahore, and their sub-offices will remain closed on Friday and Saturday.

The notification will remain in effect till January 15, the relief commissioner said.

A day earlier, Justice Karim had ordered the authorities to present the notification for keeping the schools closed for three days in a weak due to the intensity of the smog.

A law officer had told the court the draft of the notification had been prepared.

The environment department had also submitted a draft requesting the court for amendments to the rules to allow demolition of industries and brick kilns causing pollution.

During earlier hearings, the court had ordered the authorities concerned to obtain expert opinion of those countries that had overcome the smog issue.

The LHC had directed the Punjab government to impose a smog emergency and take appropriate measures before the condition worsened.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 8^th, 2022.