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LAHORE:The Punjab Environment Protection Agency (EPA) has stepped up its pre-smog crackdown, directing government departments and civic authorities to move away from practices that generate fugitive dust and to strictly enforce pollution-control measures at roads, construction sites and under-construction buildings across the province.
In a fresh set of directions, EPA DG Abdullah Nayyar Sheikh has sought an immediate shift from dry sweeping to mechanical or wet sweeping while simultaneously calling for strict implementation of standard operating procedures (SOPs) for dust control at construction and development projects.
The EPA has made it clear that routine activities such as dry sweeping, uncovered transportation of construction material and inadequate dust-control arrangements at construction sites could no longer be allowed to continue unchecked as Punjab enters the critical pre-smog period.
In a letter to the Suthra Punjab Authority, the agency said dry sweeping re-suspended settled road dust into the atmosphere, contributing to elevated PM10 and PM2.5 levels, particularly along major roads and high-traffic corridors. It requested the authority to discontinue dry sweeping and adopt mechanical or wet sweeping throughout Punjab.
The agency also called for strict prevention of open burning of solid waste, including roadside waste, leaves and garbage. It asked the Suthra Punjab Authority to identify and regularly monitor dust and waste-burning hotspots, particularly during the peak smog period from October to January.
The EPA pointed out that open burning of solid waste was prohibited under the Punjab Environmental Protection (Smog Prevention and Control) Rules, 2023, and sought greater supervision of sanitation staff and contractors to ensure compliance.
In a separate communication to the Housing, Urban Development and Public Health Engineering Department, LG and Community Development Department, Communication and Works Department, commissioners, deputy commissioners and major development authorities, the EPA has demanded strict implementation of its SOPs for dust control at under-construction roads and buildings.
The agency said the escalating air-pollution crisis, primarily driven by fugitive dust emissions from construction activities, had become a serious public-health concern, requiring proactive and uniform measures across the construction sector.
According to the EPA, it had already developed detailed SOPs for dust control at under-construction roads and buildings through an office order issued in 2025. However, field inspections by EPA Lahore revealed that prescribed measures were not being adequately implemented at several ongoing development projects.
The agency specifically highlighted the need for routine water sprinkling, proper covering of vehicles transporting construction materials and installation of on-site dust-containment barriers.
The EPA has now sought fresh and strict directions from the relevant administrative departments to all executing agencies and project in-charges under their control, making full compliance with the dust-control SOPs mandatory.
