Lahore: The Punjab government has decided to stop the purchase of petrol and diesel vehicles for its departments as part of a broader push toward cleaner and greener transport.
Under the new policy, provincial departments will be allowed to buy only electric or hybrid vehicles. However, vehicles used for field operations have been exempted from this restriction.
The government is also preparing to unveil a new Electric Vehicle Policy aimed at encouraging green energy and sustainable transport across the province.
In a related move, the issuance of No Objection Certificates for new petrol pumps has been linked to the installation of electric vehicle charging units. Chief Secretary Punjab Zahid Akhtar Zaman said that no new petrol pump will be permitted to operate without setting up EV charging facilities.
As part of this plan, NOCs have been issued through the eBiz portal for 170 new petrol pumps in 31 cities, all of which will be required to install electric charging units.
In Faisalabad, 29 new petrol pumps and in Lahore, 14 have been directed to provide EV charging facilities. Bahawalpur will have 10 such pumps, while Khanewal and Bahawalnagar will each have nine.
Similarly, eight new petrol pumps in Rawalpindi and Jhang have been approved on the condition that they install electric charging units. In Toba Tek Singh, Mianwali, Kasur, and Chiniot, seven new pumps in each district will also be required to meet the same requirement.
The Punjab government reiterated that promoting green energy and environmentally sustainable transport remains one of its top priorities.