LAHORE – Punjab continues to remain among Pakistan’s most polluted regions, with smoke-emitting, damaged and unregistered vehicles continuing to crowd roads, raising safety and pollution concerns.
Under new legal framework, such vehicles are being put under the spotlight, as government introduced concept of End-of-Life Vehicles (ELVs) and paved the way for mandatory scrapping of cars that are no longer fit to remain on the streets. As the news went viral, people are curious, and somehow anxious, like which vehicles will face action under Punjab’s new law?
Provincial Motor Vehicles (Third Amendment) Ordinance, 2026 comes into effect after getting approval from Punjab Governor Sardar Saleem Haider Khan, as the Punjab Assembly was not in session. The ordinance amends Provincial Motor Vehicles Ordinance, 1965, introducing, for the first time, a legal mechanism to identify, retire and scrap vehicles deemed unsafe, unregistered or environmentally hazardous.
Under the new law, a vehicle can be classified as an End-of-Life Vehicle if its registration expired or been cancelled, it repeatedly fails mandatory fitness or emissions tests, suffers extensive damage in an accident, fire or natural disaster, or is voluntarily surrendered by its owner for scrapping.
Once declared an ELV, the vehicle must be dismantled through government-approved private scrapping facility or an authorised centre established by the Punjab Transport and Mass Transit Department. The process includes draining hazardous fluids such as engine oil, removing reusable parts, recycling usable materials and permanently crushing the vehicle’s chassis to prevent it from returning to the roads.
Despite concerns among motorists, the ordinance does not currently impose fixed age limit for vehicles. Instead, the Punjab government will notify detailed rules later, outlining inspection procedures, fitness standards, emissions testing, authorised scrapping centres and any future age criteria for retirement of vehicles.
Officials said the new framework is part of Punjab’s broader strategy to encourage environmentally friendly transport and accelerate the shift towards electric vehicles. They argue that removing old, unsafe and high-emission vehicles will help reduce smog, improve air quality and make roads safer across the province.
The policy is expected to have impact on owners of ageing private and commercial vehicles, particularly those unable to meet future fitness and emissions standards. At the same time, industry experts believe the ordinance will create new investment opportunities in the vehicle recycling and authorised scrapping sector while bringing Punjab’s vehicle retirement system closer to international environmental and road safety practices.
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