LAHORE: The Punjab government has promulgated an ordinance to legally define and mandate the scrapping of “end-of-life vehicles”, aiming to cut vehicular emissions and improve air quality in the province.

The “Provincial Motor Vehicles (Third Amendment) Ordinance 2026” has been promulgated by Governor Sardar Saleem Haider Khan, with immediate effect, as the Punjab Assembly was not in session.

Under the amendment, a new Chapter VI-A has been inserted into the Provincial Motor Vehicles Ordinance, 1965, that defines an “End-of-life vehicle and its scrapping”.

The ordinance gazette notified by the Punjab Law and Parliamentary Affairs Department and issued on Friday says every motor or transport vehicle shall be the “end-of-life vehicle” that is no longer validly registered or its registration has been cancelled under Section 35 of this ordinance.

Aims to retire such vehicles to cut urban pollution, improve air quality

Those vehicles will also be considered “end-of-life” that have failed fitness or emission tests and are unable to obtain certificates of fitness or emission under Section 39-A of this ordinance.

The vehicles damaged due to fire, natural disaster, accident or any calamity, and its owner certifies it as a scrap; or any other vehicle voluntarily offered to a vehicle scrapping facility for scrapping, by the owner, will also be considered “end-of-life”.

The ordinance explains “Scrapping of end-of-life vehicle” as disposal, recycling, de-polluting, salvaging reusable parts, or crushing the vehicle’s frame and non-reusable parts for recycling.

The ordinance’s Section 74-A makes scrapping mandatory, stating that every end-of-life vehicle “shall” be scrapped through a private facility or a facility established by the Transport and Mass Transit Department, in a manner to be prescribed later.

The government has also been empowered under Section 74-B to frame rules for implementation of the new chapter.

In the ‘Statement of Objects and Reasons’, the Punjab Transport and Mass Transit Department says the move is aimed at “strengthening air quality management and reducing population-weighted annual average exposure” by reducing vehicular emissions.

It adds that promoting eco-friendly mass transit and transition to electric vehicles required a legal mechanism for retiring old vehicles, which did not exist in the Provincial Motor Vehicles Ordinance 1965.

This is the third amendment to the Motor Vehicles Ordinance.

Officials say detailed rules will follow to specify vehicle age limits, testing procedures, and the role of authorised scrapping centres. The policy is expected to affect owners of old commercial and private vehicles, while also opening avenues for the recycling industry and authorised scrapping businesses in Punjab.

Experts say the law provides Punjab with its first legal framework for a vehicle retirement policy, similar to the models adopted in other countries to combat urban pollution.

Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2026