In a major move to promote eco-friendly transport, the Punjab government has decided to impose a complete ban on the purchase of petrol- and diesel-powered vehicles for provincial government departments.
Under this new policy, only electric or hybrid vehicles will be purchased in the future; however, vehicles assigned to field duties have been exempted from this restriction.
According to the Chief Secretary of Punjab, promoting green energy for environmental protection is a top priority.
To achieve this, a new Electric Vehicle (EV) Policy will be introduced soon. He further announced that the approval of No Objection Certificates (NOCs) for new petrol pumps has been made conditional upon the installation of electric charging units.
No new petrol pump will be permitted to operate without an EV charging facility.
The Chief Secretary stated that the installation of charging units has been made mandatory for 170 new petrol pumps that recently received NOCs. These NOCs were issued through the e-Business Portal across 31 cities in the province.
Specific allocations include.
- Faisalabad: 29 new pumps
- Lahore: 14 new pumps
- Bahawalpur: 10 new pumps
- Khanewal & Bahawalnagar: 9 pumps each
- Rawalpindi & Jhang: 8 pumps each
- Toba Tek Singh, Mianwali, Kasur, & Chiniot: 7 pumps each
All these new stations are now legally bound to provide electric charging facilities to the public.
