LAHORE: Punjab Labour and Human Resource Minister Ansar Majeed Khan on Friday said that no brick kilns running on zigzag technology would be closed by the government along with 60 per cent of the traditional kilns that fell in green and yellow zones of the province.
Presiding over a meeting to discuss the closure of brick kilns ahead of expected smog, he said the demand of bricks would greatly increase with the launching of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s “Apna Ghar” project and job opportunities for brick kiln workers would consequently be enhanced.
“Brick kiln owners should shift to zigzag technology for non-stop and comparatively more profitable functioning of their businesses.”
The minister said the government would also promote kilns with zigzag technology as they caused lesser smog and could supply good-quality bricks throughout the year.
“They [brick kilns owners] will also be facilitated with soft loans by Bank of Punjab for the transfer of their kilns to the [zigzag] technology,” he said, hoping that 80 per cent kilns would be transferred to the pollution-free technology by the next smog season.
All owners should get their brick kilns and workers registered with Punjab Employees Social Security Institution (PESSI) so as to facilitate their workers with healthcare and related social security cover, he said and added that a strict action would be taken against those who did not do so.
The labour minister also gave directions to PESSI Headquarters director general (DG) in this regard.
Earlier, Environment Secretary Dr Zafar informed the meeting that amid expected smog from November 4, no kilns would be closed in the green zone that comprised of areas of southern Punjab. However, he said, the ones that fell in the yellow zone would be kept under strict observation and only be closed if the areas were affected by smog.
“Those [brick kilns] that fall in the red zone [Lahore, Gujranwala and Sahiwal] will be shut down to deal with the menace of smog.”
He further said that as brick kilns running on zigzag technology did not contribute to air pollution, they would remain functional during the smog season.
Labour Welfare DG Farooq Hameed Sheikh, PESSI Headquarters DG Baber Abbas, Law Director Munawar Awan, Punjab Bonded Labour Liberation Freedom Union President Mumtaz Zahoor, General Secretary Shehbaz Saeed Gujjar and other officers concerned were also present.
