Vehicles without emission test stickers to be seized in Lahore

Any car, van, bus or motorcycle found without a valid Exhaust Testing Certificate and the official green compliance sticker in Lahore will be seized from November 15.

The city struggling under a blanket of smog is now at the centre of what officials are calling the province's toughest-ever anti-pollution drive.

EPA Director General Dr Imran Hamid Sheikh warned that "environment-damaging vehicles will no longer be tolerated." He said that every vehicle, whether private or commercial, must undergo exhaust and noise-emission testing to confirm compliance with Punjab's environmental standards. "Only those vehicles that meet these standards will be allowed on the roads. All others will be confiscated on the spot," Dr Sheikh stressed.

Officials begun distributing notices and public advisories urging vehicle owners to complete ETS testing and obtain the stickers before the deadline. The DG emphasised that vehicles without certification would face legal action, impoundment and possible fines. The move, he said, was vital as winter smog intensifies.

EPA inspection teams are setting up checkpoints in collaboration with the traffic police across major routes in Lahore, including Ferozepur Road, Canal Bank, and Mall Road, to conduct random on-the-spot checks. The crackdown targets vehicles identified as major contributors to particulate matter that worsens respiratory illnesses and reduces visibility.

The decision follows alarming new data showing Lahore's air quality deteriorating to one of the worst in the world this week. According to QAir's real-time index, the city recorded PM2.5 levels exceeding 160 micro grams per cubic metre, more than 30 times the World Health Organisation's safe limit.

"If the EPA enforces this policy before the peak smog season, it could help reduce some of the severe pollution we see every November and December," said an environment department official.

He also cautioned that limited testing infrastructure could hinder results. "There are only a handful of certified testing stations. That's the bottleneck," he explained.

Critics also argue that the government needs to pair enforcement with incentives, such as subsidised retrofitting for older vehicles or low-interest loans for cleaner technology to make compliance realistic for working class drivers.