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EPA spokesperson Sajid Bashir said the department was accelerating its field operations ahead of the smog season and that vehicle emission control was being treated as a priority under the province\u2019s pre-smog arrangements.He said vehicles found emitting smoke beyond the prescribed environmental limits were being proceeded against under the relevant laws, while the agency was increasing inspections at locations where heavy traffic and commercial transport were concentrated. He urged owners of heavy vehicles, buses, trucks and diesel-powered vehicles to have their engines and exhaust systems properly maintained and ensure that their vehicles had valid fitness certification before operating on major urban routes.The EPA is now preparing for a further tightening of enforcement at city entry points. Officials said vehicles without valid fitness certification and vehicles found emitting excessive smoke would face action, with the objective of preventing unfit and highly polluting vehicles from entering major urban centres.The coming days are expected to see greater deployment of environmental teams at major entry and exit points, where heavy vehicles will be subjected to closer scrutiny. The measure is part of a preventive approach designed to intercept major pollution sources before they enter already congested urban areas.The enforcement drive will also be supported through the Punjab Safe Cities Authority\u2019s camera network, with officials working to utilise Safe City surveillance for identification and monitoring of heavy transport vehicles (HTVs). Camera assistance will help enforcement teams identify vehicles requiring further inspection and support action against non-compliant heavy vehicles. The use of technology is expected to strengthen monitoring of major routes and entry points and improve the ability of field teams to track and act against vehicles violating prescribed environmental requirements.DG EPA Punjab Abdullah Nayyar Sheikh has issued strict directions to field officers to intensify enforcement against smoke-emitting vehicles as an essential part of the province\u2019s pre-smog preparations. He has directed teams to maintain regular surveillance on major routes and ensure that environmental violations are dealt with promptly and without discrimination.Mr Sheikh has also stressed the need for stronger coordination between the EPA, district administrations, traffic authorities, the Punjab Safe Cities Authority and other relevant departments. According to the directions, vehicular emission control cannot be treated as an isolated environmental exercise and must form part of a coordinated pre-smog response involving all departments responsible for traffic management, enforcement and public health protection.The DG has directed field formations to identify pollution hotspots, increase roadside inspections and ensure that enforcement activity is sustained throughout the pre-smog period rather than being limited to the peak smog months.Secretary Environment Protection and Climate Change Department Silwat Saeed has also emphasised the importance of completing pre-smog preparations before air quality begins to deteriorate. The department\u2019s approach is focused on prevention, early intervention and coordinated action against major sources of pollution.Ms Saeed has stressed that the province cannot afford to wait for hazardous smog conditions to develop before taking corrective action. The pre-smog period, according to the department\u2019s strategy, provides a critical window for identifying pollution sources, enforcing environmental standards, strengthening institutional coordination and creating public awareness about measures to reduce emissions.The department is therefore strengthening field monitoring and enforcement mechanisms ahead of the expected smog season, with vehicular emissions being treated as one of the important areas requiring early intervention. The strategy includes increased inspections, identification of high-emission vehicles and stronger action against persistent violators.Officials say the objective of the pre-smog campaign is not simply to increase the number of challans or impoundments but to achieve an actual reduction in emissions before atmospheric conditions become conducive to the accumulation of pollutants.The EPA has consequently urged transport operators to treat the current period as a compliance phase and ensure that their vehicles are roadworthy, properly maintained and compliant with environmental requirements. Heavy vehicle operators have been particularly advised not to wait for intensified enforcement to address emission and fitness issues.With 1,745 challans, 621 impounded vehicles and Rs4.483 million in fines already recorded in Lahore in four months, the EPA says enforcement will now be taken to a higher level as part of its pre-smog preparedness. The planned crackdown and intensified monitoring will extend across Punjab, with field formations being directed to strengthen enforcement against smoke-emitting and non-compliant vehicles.The environmental authorities are also expected to increase checks at city entry points and on major traffic corridors in the coming days. The clear objective is to prevent high-emission vehicles from entering urban areas and adding to the pollution load at a time when Punjab is preparing for the most challenging period of the year in terms of air quality.The provincial government\u2019s pre-smog strategy is therefore increasingly centred on early enforcement, prevention and source control, with strict monitoring of vehicular emissions being positioned as a frontline measure. The integration of field inspections with Safe City camera assistance is expected to further strengthen surveillance of heavy vehicles and improve enforcement on major routes.Officials maintain that timely action before the smog season begins will be critical to reducing pollution levels and protecting public health. The EPA has warned that enforcement will become stricter in the coming days and that vehicles failing to meet the required environmental and fitness standards will face legal action.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Punjab Environment Protection Agency (EPA) has stepped up preparations for the upcoming smog season, launching an intensified crackdown on smoke-emitting vehicles and placing heavy vehicles, trucks, buses, SUVs and diesel-powered transport at the centre of its pre-smog enforcement strategy.The move comes as the provincial environmental authorities shift their focus from reacting to deteriorating air …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":72843,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[41],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-72836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-41"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/baldiyattimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72836","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/baldiyattimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/baldiyattimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baldiyattimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baldiyattimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=72836"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/baldiyattimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72836\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":72844,"href":"https:\/\/baldiyattimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72836\/revisions\/72844"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baldiyattimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/72843"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/baldiyattimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=72836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baldiyattimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=72836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baldiyattimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=72836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}