Punjab govt lambasted for unprecedented raise in licence fee
Pakistan
The angry people said the increase in fee is excessive and will add to their financial woes
LAHORE (Dunya News) – People on Wednesday lambasted the caretaker Punjab government for “unjustified and unprecedented” increase in the fee for issuance of learner’s driving licence.
The caretaker government had on Tuesday, in a cabinet meeting, increased the learner’s driving licence fee from Rs60 to Rs1,000. The fee will be applicable from Jan 1, 2024.
The cabinet also decided to raise fee for LTV (light transport vehicle), HTV (heavy transport vehicle) and PSV (public service vehicle) licence, while the citizens of the US, Canada and other countries can apply online and will be charged $100 as licence fee.
The angry people said the increase in fee was excessive and would add to their financial woes as they are already reeling under high inflation prevailing in the country.
They urged the government to review the decision and bring it down to affordable limit.
As the news of fee hike spread, people rushed to police service centres to apply for learner’s licence. There were long queues in the centres.
Meanwhile, CTO Mustansar Feroze said the summary for increase in fee had been under consideration since long.
He justified delay in issuance of licence fee, saying that it was due to rush of licence seekers.
According to figures provided by the traffic police, 280,518 learner’s licences and 19,761 new licences were made in November while 18,312 people renewed their licences.
