Tackling the smog challenge

EDITORIAL: As the smog season approaches, Punjab’s preparations show a welcome shift from seasonal alarm to sustained enforcement and investment. The latest figures from the Punjab Safe Cities Authority (PSCA) are striking: in just three days, its technology-based monitoring detected 1, 038 environmental violations and led to 1, 277 e-challans and other legal and administrative actions. Uncovered construction material, smoke-emitting vehicles, barbecue and chimney emissions, brick kilns, industrial pollution and open burning were among the violations identified. According to the Punjab Safe Cities Authority, the campaign has also included drone surveillance and intensified monitoring of industries and kilns. The use of AI cameras, drones and video analytics can make enforcement more systematic. Rather than relying entirely on physical inspections, technology can identify pollution sources and direct enforcement teams towards them. Yet detection is only the first step. The real test will be whether violations decline because penalties are sufficiently certain, proportionate and consistently applied. The government must also ensure that automated enforcement is transparent, based on reliable evidence and subject to human oversight, with an effective mechanism for citizens to challenge erroneous e-challans. Such safeguards will become increasingly important as Punjab expands its digital surveillance infrastructure. More importantly, enforcement must be accompanied by viable alternatives. The proposed deployment of 120, 000 electric two- and three-wheelers under the Punjab Clean Air Programme is an important step in that direction. Affordable financing, adequate charging and battery-swapping infrastructure, and responsible battery-waste management will determine whether electrification becomes a practical option for ordinary commuters and commercial operators. The planned rollout of electric buses and 120, 000 two-and-three wheelers through an affordable financing programme is another component of the transition towards cleaner transport. The proposed carbon-credit component, however, warrants careful consideration. Carbon credits could potentially provide an additional source of financing by monetising verified emissions reductions. But this should not become an end in itself. Before seeking to generate revenue from carbon markets, the province needs a credible system for measuring, reporting and independently verifying actual reductions in emissions. Baseline data, methodologies, verification arrangements and revenues generated from any credits should be publicly disclosed. The priority must remain cleaner air; carbon finance should serve that objective rather than substitute for it. There is a broader lesson. Smog is not produced by one sector, nor can it be eliminated through one crackdown. Vehicles, construction dust, industrial emissions, brick kilns, waste burning and crop-residue burning require different remedies. The government’s provision of super seeders, for instance, is important because farmers need practical and affordable alternatives if enforcement against residue burning is to be sustainable. The government deserves credit for beginning enforcement before the worst weeks of winter arrive. But success should ultimately be measured not by the number of challans issued, cameras installed or meetings held, but by sustained reductions in exposure to PM2. 5. Punjab needs a year-round clean-air strategy that combines enforcement with affordable alternatives, reliable data, public accountability and long-term changes in transport, agriculture and industry. Only then can the annual smog emergency become a manageable public-policy challenge rather than a recurring crisis. Copyright Business Recorder, 2026

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