Smog response

PUNJAB'S decision to begin fighting smog before the air turns poisonous deserves support. For years, the province's response to winter pollution has too often appeared reactive: schools close, outdoor activity is restricted and emergency measures follow once Lahore's air becomes hazardous. The latest 'pre-smog crackdown', targeting construction dust, dry sweeping, crop-residue and waste burning, brick kilns, and vehicle emissions, is therefore a sensible change in approach. Some of the new steps are practical: ending dry sweeping, requiring wet or mechanical cleaning, covering construction material, checking vehicle emissions and using technology to identify violations can reduce avoidable pollution. Making dust-control compliance at construction sites a condition of project approval would be useful, provided penalties apply equally to public and private projects. Likewise, farmers should be helped to dispose of crop residue through modern machinery rather than simply punished for burning it; enforcement without affordable alternatives will invite evasion. The real test, however, is implementation. Punjab already has rules against waste burning, emissions standards and dust-control protocols, yet the EPA itself says inspections in Lahore found poor compliance at several development projects despite SOPs issued last year. That should temper official claims of progress. Punjab must resist treating smog as a three-month problem. Transport, industry, waste management and urban construction pollute throughout the year. Winter weather merely traps these emissions closer to the ground and makes the consequences harder to ignore. Cleaner public transport, stricter vehicle fitness regimes, better fuel quality, modernised industry, proper waste collection and continuous air-quality monitoring matter as much as raids and fines. Authorities should publish emissions data, inspection results and penalties so the public can judge whether enforcement is sustained and whether repeat offenders are being deterred. Greater coordination among provincial departments and city authorities is important. Citizens, too, have a role, but official appeals for cooperation cannot replace governance. Individuals cannot regulate kilns, redesign transport systems or police construction sites. Those are state responsibilities. Punjab is right to act before October, but the crackdown will only count as progress if it becomes routine. Published in Dawn, September 13th, 2026