LAHORE:To promote green energy, the Punjab government has decided to impose a complete ban on the purchase of petrol and diesel vehicles in all government departments.
Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz approved the proposal and in future only electric or hybrid vehicles will be purchased for the government departments.
She said vehicles used on field duties were exempted from the ban. Thechief minister will soon announce the new Electric Vehicle Policy 2026.Meanwhile, the Punjab government has issued No-Objection Certificates (NOCs) for 170 new petrol pumps in 31 cities of the provinceand none of them will be allowed to operate without the installation of electric vehicle charging units.
According to the Punjab government, all NOCs have been issued through the e-Biz portal, while the approval of new petrol pumps has been made conditional on the provision of electric charging facilities. Installation of electric charging units has been made mandatory at all 170 petrol pumps that receive NOCs.
In terms of cities, 29 new petrol pumps were sanctioned in Faisalabad, 14 in Lahore, 10 in Bahawalpur while 9 each in Khanewal and Bahawalnagar.Similarly, eight each in Rawalpindi and Jhang and seven each in Toba Tek Singh, Mianwali, Kasur and Chiniot.
The Punjab government spokesperson stated that promoting green energy for environmental protection was the government's priority while a new electric vehicle policy will be introduced in the province soon.
