The Delhi Government in January 2022 announced that the PUC (Pollution Under Control) Certificates would in near future become mandatory for fuel filling at capitals petrol and gas pumps.
As mentioned by Environment Minister Gopal Rai, a draft notification has been released earlier this month stating the very mandate of vehicles having Pollution Under Control Certificates (PUCC) for filling fuel. The notification was still in a draft when the capital saw a whopping number of 1.7 lakh PUC certificates being issued till March 10. This is comparatively huge when seen with the overall PUC certificates issued in February, which is 4.4 lakh certificates.
A Delhi gazetted notification was issued on March 4, which ordered all the dealers of petrol, diesel, and CNG pumps to sell fuel to those vehicles only who have a valid PUC certificate. This order was to take effect immediately throughout the national capital of India. The notification, however, is still waiting for its final nod for coming into effect. According to the draft, if the produced PUCC at the refilling station is invalid, the owner of the vehicle will get the certificate reissued at the pump.
Under the transport department’s feverish actions, 35.5 lakh PUC certificates have been issued from October 2021 to 10 March 2022. The department is nimbly taking actions against pollution-causing vehicles or vehicles which do not possess a valid PUC certificate. For this, a fine of Rs. 10,000 has been put for not carrying a valid PUC certificate or a 6-month jail term. There are 1.2 crore registered vehicles in Delhi, out of which approximately 75 lakhs are ‘active’ vehicles.
In November 2021, around 8 lakh PUC certificates were issued, which continued to decline over the next few months. In December 2021, the number was 7.9 lakh. In January 2022, the total PUC certificates issued were dropped down to 5 lakh, which dropped further to 4.4 lakh in February 2022.
The PUC certificate is an important measure to control vehicular emissions, and thus, in turn, to control automobile pollution on roads. Presently, Delhi hosts 973 authorized pollution checking centers, spread all around the city. The validity for the PUC certificate is one year and is a mandatory norm as per Delhi government guidelines.
