FAISALABAD, Jan 25: The city district nazim has set a deadline of one year for shifting industrial units from the congested areas. Presiding over a meeting of district heads of various departments here on Wednesday, Rana Zahid Tauseef said the industrial units were creating pollution and had become a hurdle in the cleanliness drive. He said criminal cases would be registered against factory owners for polluting underground water.

He said a survey would be conducted about the factories and their effects and the same would be forwarded to the provincial government for an appropriate action.

The nazim directed the district officer (environment) to take action against marble factories creating environment pollution. The fitness of passenger vehicles plying on city routes would also be checked by the officials concerned to reduce pollution.

He directed the special planning wing of the local government to chalk out a strategy to overcome the menace of rapidly increasing publicity boards in the congested areas. The signboards installed in violation of the rules and without getting NoCs should be uprooted, he said.

The nazim also ordered the labour officer to check industrial units and workshops to eliminate child labour. Measures should be taken to provide emergency fire-brigade service to the citizens, he said. —Staff Correspondent