n Lahore’s busy markets, keeping the streets clean may soon be a personal responsibility. The Suthra Punjab Authority has launched a pilot anti-littering e-challan system, to monitor cleanliness laws and penalise violations.

The project targets 200 commercial markets and major roads including The Mall, Jail Road and Ferozepur Road. A 75-member enforcement staff (including a 50-member field and supervising squad with 25 motorcycles) is tasked to patrol major roads and commercial hubs in the city.

Initial operations focus on educating citizens and issuing warning e-challans before strict monetary fines take effect for repeat offenders.

Muhammad Iqbal is one of the many traders in Main Market, Gulberg, who have received warning e-challans from the SPA after waste was found on public roads next to their shops.

“We do not litter. Some of our irresponsible customers and random visitors do. Yet, the [Suthra Punjab] Authority has sent us these challans,” Iqbal tells TNS.

Currently, the project is focused on marketplaces and other commercial areas in the city. Shopkeepers have been asked to keep the areas around their businesses clean and ensure that waste reaches proper collection points. Citizens visiting the markets are told not to throw wrappers, bottles, food waste or other rubbish on the roads.

The drive will eventually be expanded to residential areas.

SPA spokesperson Umar Chaudhry says the Authority is currently working on a system to identify people who throw waste in public spaces. In this regard, the Authority is collecting data about violations so that repeat offenders and areas with frequent cleanliness problems can be identified.

For now, the Authority is issuing what the officials describe as “zero tickets,” or notices without a monetary fine. “The idea is to give people an opportunity to change their behaviour before financial penalties are enforced,” Chaudhry says.

The results are beginning to show. Some shopkeepers have placed waste bins next to their businesses.

Chaudhry says the purpose is not simply to issue challans, but to improve cleanliness in marketplaces and encourage people to dispose of waste properly. “Our teams are working day and night in commercial areas. If a person is spotted littering, the cops will blow a whistle to alert them.”

The drive currently covers more than 200 markets in commercial areas across Lahore. The authorities have also engaged the traders’ associations. They have been asked to inform shopkeepers about the new cleanliness rules. Teams on motorcycles can be seen educating the public in busy commercial areas. Each team is composed of four workers that patrol commercial areas during their assigned shifts.

According to Chaudhry, the information provided by the monitoring teams will become part of the SPA’s growing database. For now, much of the monitoring depends on the teams in the field.

The SPA plans to reduce its reliance on manual checking by bringing technology into the system. Safe City cameras are being connected with SPA’s monitoring system to help identify littering in commercial areas. Routes have already been mapped in several locations for surveillance.

The use of cameras could change the way littering is monitored. Instead of relying on officers’ word alone, authorities can now see camera footage to identify violations across wider areas. The data thus collected will help officials identify repeat offenders and markets that require greater attention.

he SPA plans to introduce monetary penalties once the drive moves beyond the awareness stage. The proposed fine amounts are:

n Rs 1,000 for littering

n Rs 500 for relieving the bladder in public spaces

n Up to Rs 10,000 for serious or repeated violations

n Rs 500,000 for waste burning

Going forward, the Authority plans to seek citizen participation in the monitoring. If one encounters overflowing garbage heaps, waste burning or illegal dumping, they can file a formal complaint by calling on the Suthra Punjab Helpline 1139. Else, they can use the Suthra Punjab Shehri app which allows them to upload photo evidence alongside GPS location mapping. Officials say public complaints will help the authority identify problems that were missed by the patrol teams.

Ahsan Raza is the editor of an English daily. He can be reached at [email protected]