Punjab Environmental Protection Agency has started issuing Laboratory Certifications, Environmental Approvals, Environmental Protection Orders and Recommendations for Import Licenses through e-FOAS with system-generated unique reference number and QR-code authentication.
“Any Laboratory Certification, Environmental Approval, Environmental Protection Order or Recommendation for Import License issued outside e-FOAS shall be considered ultra vires, void ab initio, illegal, misuse of authority, stated EPA Punjab Director General, Dr Imran Hamid Sheikh.
He made it clear that a deliberate attempt to flout this order will attract disciplinary proceedings against the signatory of that document. This order shall come into force with immediate effect and shall remain in force until modified or withdrawn.
“Transition towards a paperless regulatory regime is essential to reduce environmental footprint, conserve natural resources, eliminate manual handling of records, prevent record tampering, establish real-time traceability of regulatory actions, and enhance transparency, efficiency and public confidence in environmental governance, the notification reads.
All official correspondence of EPA Punjab has already shifted to e-FOAS, thereby formally institutionalising digital workflow and electronic correspondence as the mandatory mode of governance in EPA Punjab.
“Once electronic correspondence was made mandatory, it became imperative to bring all core regulatory processes of the Agency under the same centralised digital system to ensure legal certainty, traceability and enforcement integrity.
“Certification of Laboratories, Environmental Approvals, Environmental Protection Orders, and recommendations for Import Licenses are now being processed, scrutinized and approved through structured digital workflows on the e-FOAS, the order reads.
