While the environment authorities have sprung into action in the wake of the thick blanket of smog covering Lahore, environmental laws in Punjab have proved largely ineffective over the years.
Since November 2, a thick blanket of fog loaded with pollutants and dust has engulfed Lahore and its adjoining districts, causing breathing problems and disrupting normal traffic.
On November 5, the provincial authorities ordered a crackdown on polluting factories in the city and shut down 19 units in one go.
Since then at least 38 industrial units have been closed down for burning coal powder, tyre scrap, used plastic and other harmful substances.
The Environmental Protection Department has penalised the factories under the Punjab Environmental Protection (Amendment) Act, 2012 that amended the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act of 1997.
The four basic provisions relating to pollution control are contained in Sections 11, 13, 14 and 15 of the PEPA 1997.
Section 11 prohibits discharge or emission of any effluent or waste or air or noise pollution in excess of the established ambient standards for air, water or land.
Section 12 makes it mandatory to get an initial environmental impact assessment report for any construction project.
Section 13 contains an absolute, blanket prohibition of import of hazardous waste.
Section 14 prohibits the handling of hazardous substances except under licence or in accordance with provisions of any local law or international agreement.
Section 15 prohibits operation of motor vehicle from which air pollution or noise are being emitted in excess of the allowed limits.
The question remains, however, will the environmental departments, tribunals and the legal apparatus be able to curtail smog?
Industrial and commercial activity is one of the leading sources of volatile organic compounds (VOC), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulphur oxides (SOx) while unburned petrol is a major source of carbon monoxide.
According to environmental attorney Sardar Asif Sayal, every month thousands of new vehicles are added to the roads, but the certification system for new vehicles is inefficient.
This results in lack of concrete data on emissions, which is important in tracking pollutants.
Similarly, there are no strict regulatory measures against industrial emissions and the mechanism for environmental impact assessment prior to a development activity is largely ineffective.
Theoretically speaking, Sayal says, the environment protection laws in Pakistan are well-written but their implementation is poor. “The role of EPA as a regulatory authority has been extremely unproductive,” he believes.
The Environmental Protection Agency has the authority to penalise any industrial unit violating the laws and forward the cases to the Punjab Environmental Protection tribunals.
The erring industries can be fined up to Rs5mn.
The Punjab environmental tribunal, Sayal says, has been rendered ineffective for the past 18 months because the EPA has not forwarded even a single case.
He was of the view that the EPA’s role as per the law was to mitigate and eliminate pollution but given the current situation, the body has turned into an authority which is somewhat protecting the pollution-causing industries.
According to EPA spokesperson and director Nasimur Rehman Shah, about 300 industrial units are operating in Lahore and the department has managed to take action against majority of them.
“These units run on gas and electricity but resort to using substandard fuels like rubber and tyres during load shedding that generates toxic fumes,” he said.
The EPA, he claimed, sent cases to the tribunal against these industries and as a result about 200 units were forced to install wet scrubbers to eliminate toxic emissions.
“We have [also] asked the agriculture department to put a ban on stubble burning,” he said.
The waste management company has also been directed to take strict measures.