Punjab built its first drone-based surveillance system to combat pollution

LAHORE:  Punjab has implemented its first drone-based monitoring system to tackle industrial pollution, and it is already apprehending the violators.

The high-tech project, which was started in Punjab by the Environment Department, employs sophisticated thermal drones to search industrial areas for unlawful emissions and environmental infractions.

The system isn’t just for show – within days of being online, it identified three illegal pyrolysis plants in Lahore’s Mehmood Booti district and reported four additional industries for producing dangerous emissions.

Since then, authorities have taken hundreds of bags loaded with carbon and started investigating the environmental officials who did nothing.

Director General of the Environment Department, Imran Hamid Sheikh, termed it “a game changer.”

“We’re now e-mapping all brick kilns and industries. The footage from drones gives us hard evidence and a clear tool to monitor not only polluters but also our own officers’ performance,” he added.

The surveillance technology aims to bridge enforcement loopholes that have enabled industrial pollution to go undetected. Officials believe the real-time aerial monitoring will provide unparalleled openness, helping keep both companies and regulatory bodies responsible.

It should also aid in addressing the problem of increasing pollution levels in Punjab’s cities, which have been causing haze and other environmental risks as well as a general decline in air quality.