Every province in Pakistan possesses a nearly complete set of environmental laws, rules and regulations. However, their enforcement is largely absent. The primary reason cited by each province is typically the lack of a robust enforcement mechanism. Now, Punjab stands alone as the province that cannot offer this excuse.

It has recently established its Environment Protection Squad, a team of uniformed personnel authorised to inspect every entity and individual within Punjab to ensure compliance with environmental laws. If significant violations are identified, this squad can impose immediate penalties and initiate legal proceedings against the offenders.

It's highly unlikely that someone without a technical background, whether from the ruling political party or the bureaucracy, could have achieved this. These individuals often oversimplify technical issues for the sake of impactful rhetoric. Bureaucrats typically don't stay in a single department long enough to drive significant technical development, and politicians at the top, while desiring results, primarily focus on figures to satisfy superiors and critics.

Therefore, it's a real mystery for those unfamiliar with environmental science to figure out who in Punjab took such a technical initiative, which has now finalised the environmental law enforcement system.

Let's unravel the mystery and give credit where it's due for this remarkable achievement. It's a step long yearned for, one that eluded all provinces, including the former green leadership of Punjab,........

© The Express Tribune