SOME two decades after it first appeared on Lahore’s horizon, the authorities have finally come up with a plan to deal with the perennial problem of smog. Last Friday, the Punjab government approved a master action plan to address what has often been described as the ‘fifth season’ in Lahore and the adjoining cities. Under this plan, the authorities will take measures to improve Lahore’s air quality throughout the year instead of only during the smog season. The measures would ensure the following: all brick kilns in the area employ the more efficient and less environmentally toxic zigzag technology, loans are handed to farmers to purchase straw cutters and Happy Seeders to curb the trend of burning crop residue, and a commission is established to prevent illegal housing societies from emerging. Moreover, tickets would be issued to owners of smoke-emitting vehicles and their documents will be confiscated until vehicle fitness requirements are met. These measures would be given legal cover under the Calamities Act. Finally, it seems, the authorities are waking up to the effects of Lahore’s year-round poor air quality that intensifies the smog challenge in the colder months.

However, based on whatever little has been revealed of the master plan, it is difficult to establish its effectiveness on the ground. Firstly, the outlined steps do not appear to provide for reform of or penalty for industrial polluters, who contribute significantly to Lahore’s worsening air quality. Secondly, it is odd that a commission is required to prevent illegal housing societies from materialising. If they are illegal, who is awarding permission for their construction? Similarly, measures such as confiscation of documents of ‘unfit’ vehicles for an indefinite period might simply give reason to law-enforcement officials to abuse their authority and inconvenience workers by keeping them from reaching their workplaces. Though it is good that a framework has been decided on to deal with a critical problem that is a hazard in many ways, it will be tough to implement it without practical arrangements.

Published in Dawn, August 29th, 2022