All schools are instructed by LHC to re-register within a month.

Several petitions seeking practical ways to reduce the region’s smog were considered by the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday.

The hearing was presided over by Justice Shahid Karim, who emphasized the need for a school bus policy and ordered all schools to re-register within a month. He gave Khalid Nazir, the school education secretary, instructions to revoke the registration of any schools that do not follow the bus policy.

Nazir presented proposed regulations for private schools, highlighting that new registrations would require schools to provide bus services. “We have made a policy where only schools having buses will be registered,” he stated, adding that buses would be mandatory under the revised rules.

Noting that school owners have sufficient resources to carry out the policy, Justice Karim emphasized the gravity of the situation. Before the next smog season, he gave the government instructions to finalize the regulations and guarantee compliance.

Along with highlighting infractions on Multan Road, such as poor adherence to traffic regulations, the court also requested a comprehensive traffic plan from the director general of the Lahore Development Authority. “There are bus depots and societies on Multan Road where traffic rules are not being followed,” the judge stated.

Justice Karim emphasized the importance of the issue while expressing pleasure with the government’s efforts to tackle smog. “The issue of the environment has become very serious, and no more time should be wasted,” he remarked.

Throughout the hearings, the court also questioned Aitchison College’s jurisdiction. Aitchison College is under the purview of the Higher Education Department, according to the school secretary, and Justice Karim gave the Punjab government’s attorney instructions to notify the institution of the policy changes.

Growing public concern over environmental deterioration and its effects on health is reflected in the petitions filed by Haroon Farooq and others. Justice Karim emphasized that in order to guarantee noticeable development, all court directives must be carried out before the next smog season.

Advocate Hassan Ijaz, who represents the Punjab government in court, promised the court that the environmental crisis would be addressed.