Owners of private vehicles in Punjab who fail to obtain a fitness certificate will face a Rs2,000 fine from October 15, when a province-wide enforcement drive begins. The deadline is close, but only 16 PVEs centres are operating across the province.
Emission testing has been made mandatory for private vehicles to help control smog.
Every owner must visit a PVEs centre and obtain a fitness sticker and certificate, both valid for one year. The sticker carries a QR code. The Transport Department, traffic police and other departments will carry out the crackdown jointly.
Of the 16 centres, 11 are in Lahore and only five are in other districts. Punjab has a population of 130 million and 2.3 million registered vehicles, and the limited capacity has raised fears of long queues at the centres.
The Provincial Transport Authority (PTA) said 25 PVEs centres will soon be fully operational at different locations in Lahore. So far, 12,000 private vehicles have been checked at the centres.
