The transport department of Punjab has announced to provide 300 battery-powered buses.

According to the details, Punjab’s transport secretary Asad Gilani said that the initiative is part of a wider government policy to cut down on emissions and pollution in the country.

Three of Punjab’s cities – Lahore, Faisalabad and Gujranwala – are constantly ranked in the 30 most polluted cities in the world, according to data by AirVisual.

“There are two models of buses we are looking at, the eight-metre and the 12-metre long bus,” said Gilani. “We are more inclined towards obtaining the eight-metre one though.” He went on to say that the Punjab government is likely to procure these from China and Austria.

At the moment, there is no set timeline for when these buses will begin plying the roads, but according to the secretary, the plan is to “introduce them before smog descends on Lahore”.

Earlier, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam said, two hundred million trees will be planted in Punjab to build resilience to climate change.

According to the details, addressing the inaugural ceremony of Pakistan’s first-ever urban forest on today, he said the government is adopting adequate measures to combat environmental pollution.

The Adviser also said, electric buses will be run in Lahore to reduce the air pollution.

As a part of "Urban Forest Policy" First #Miyawaki Urban Forest in Pakistan, #LibertyUrbanForest, inaugurated by Advisor to PM @aminattock

Area = 2,850 Square meters
Native species = 45+
Saplings planted = 10,000+#Plant4Punjab #CleanGreenPunjab @CleanGreenPK pic.twitter.com/HtwgKLUWEU

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— Govt of Pakistan (@pid_govt) January 5, 2020

Earlier in November, The MoU was signed by Minister of Science and Technology Fawad Hussain Chaudhary and CEO of bus hailing service in Islamabad on Tuesday, according to Radio Pakistan.

Under the MoU, the company will introduce electric battery-powered buses and also spend 12 billion rupees to expand its transport bus service in the country

Lahore, Pakistan’s second largest metropolitan city, has a population of 11 million, but only 300 public buses and 500 mini-vans, as per the Lahore Transport Company (LTC). “The city needs at least 1,500 public buses to meet its need,” Shehryar Hassan, a senior official at the LTC stated.