NEW DELHI: The national capital began its stricter “No PUC, No Fuel” drive on October 1, putting the city’s vehicle-testing system under fresh scrutiny. A CAG audit found that only 46% to 63% of vehicles due for Pollution Under Control (PUC) checks were tested in Delhi from 2018-19 to 2020-21, with the share falling to 51% in 2020-21.
The number of registered vehicles has since grown. Delhi had 87.61 lakh registered motor vehicles as of March 19, 2026, including 59.28 lakh two-wheelers, according to the Economic Survey.
The Transport Department says about 953 PUC centres are operational across the city, including 698 at fuel or IGL stations and 255 at workshops, depots and dealer facilities. That amounts to about 9,184 registered vehicles per centre, although the ratio does not measure actual testing capacity.
The CAG’s audit found that 1.06 crore vehicles were due for PUC checks in 2018-19, against 48.69 lakh checks conducted. In 2019-20, 1.12 crore vehicles were due and 71.11 lakh were tested. In 2020-21, 1.18 crore were due and 62.18 lakh were tested.
Pre-BS-IV vehicles required quarterly checks, increasing the number of tests due. The enforcement network is now much wider. The Transport Department says ANPR cameras operate at about 500 strategic locations, including fuel stations and interstate bus terminals. It issued 2,88,864 challans for invalid PUC certificates in 2025, or about 791 a day. The department also inspected PUC centres 1,288 times, issuing 283 warnings and 69 show-cause notices, suspending 39 centres and cancelling 13.
The centre-level data raises another issue: whether certificates are being issued consistently across the network. The department says its software blocks PUC machines when calibration or annual maintenance expires. Yet the CAG audit found that 272 of 448 vehicle dealers’ showrooms and workshops, or 60%, did not have PUC centres as of January 2021.
The audit also flagged cases where vehicles found with excessive emissions had valid certificates.
Delhi has since moved towards independent checks. The Assembly record says the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago audited 90 PUC centres in 2025, with the detailed report still awaited when the department submitted its response. The government has also announced upgrades to PUC centres in November.
The new enforcement drive is already operating mainly through technology. A Times of India ground check on October 1 found petrol pumps using scanners, CCTV and announcements, with no enforcement marshals present at the four outlets visited. Staff at the pumps said around 10 to 15 vehicles a day were being flagged for invalid PUC certificates.
The government has not yet published a comparable 2025-26 city-wide figure for vehicles due for PUC testing versus vehicles actually tested. That number would show whether the gap identified by the CAG has narrowed under the new enforcement regime.