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In an attempt to address severe environmental degradation in the province, the administration in Pakistan's Punjab has issued an ordinance to define and enforce the disposal of vehicular scrap.
According to Dawn, Governor Sardar Saleem Haider Khan promulgated the "Provincial Motor Vehicles (Third Amendment) Ordinance 2026" on an immediate basis, bypassing the legislative process while the Punjab Assembly was not in session. The new measure inserts Chapter VI-A into the legacy Provincial Motor Vehicles Ordinance, 1965. Under the gazette notification published by the Punjab Law and Parliamentary Affairs Department, any motor or transport vehicle that loses valid registration or faces cancellation under Section 35 will automatically be classified as an "end-of-life vehicle". Dawn reported that the scope covers vehicles failing mandatory fitness or emission checks under Section 39-A. The directive also applies to vehicles destroyed by accidents, fires or natural calamities, alongside those voluntarily turned over by owners for dismantling. The legal provision outlines "Scrapping of end-of-life vehicle" as complete disposal, recycling, depolluting, component salvaging or crushing structural frames. Section 74-A mandates that such vehicles "shall" be scrapped via private facilities or units set up by the Transport and Mass Transit Department. Section 74-B grants powers to establish rules for full execution. In its 'Statement of Objects and Reasons', the Transport Department acknowledged that the region had lacked any statutory framework to retire ageing, highly polluting vehicles since 1965, delaying fundamental air quality management and the transition towards electric mobility. As per Dawn, the administration has yet to finalise detailed operational rules, including specific vehicle age caps, standardised testing protocols and licensing guidelines for scrap facilities. Dawn noted that while officials claim the framework aligns with international anti-pollution standards, the unilateral move is expected to pile fresh economic distress onto private and commercial vehicle owners in the region. (ANI)
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