Punjab imposes ban on car washing at home

Amid the global water crisis caused by the widening gap between supply and demand, the Punjab government has decided to conserve water by banning car washing at home. Residents who violate the rule will face a heavy fine.

The decision issued by the Environment Protection Department Punjab (EPD) on Thursday aligned with the directives of the Lahore High Court (LHC), stating that any individual who would wash a car at home would pay a fine worth Rs10,000. 

Moreover, the notification also instructed the authorities to closing all illegal service stations without further ado. 

Read: Punjab restricts out-of-province registered cars in new rules

The EPD, moreover, ordered that any service station without a water recycling system would be charged a fine worth Rs100,000 and gave an ultimatum to owners to install a water recycling system by February 28. 

Moreover, the latest order bans the use of bore (ground) water and all types of oil used for washing vehicles.

The new rules would take effect immediately.

Officials said that Punjab recorded a 42% decline in rainfall over the past five years, making water conservation a crucial priority. 

Earlier this month, the LHC’s Justice Shahid Karim, while hearing several petitions pertaining to ineffective measures by officials against smog, remarked that the report of the water judicial commission highlighted the depletion of underground water resources, stressing the need for appropriate rules to conserve water.

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He had suggested banning car washing at home to save significant amounts of water. 

The judge also directed the authorities that filling stations without water treatment plants should be sealed with an initial warning followed by a fine of Rs100,000.  

Justice Shahid Karim had also emphasised the need to prevent water wastage at mosques.