NEW DELHI: Days after the government asked all the refilling stations to refuel vehicles only if they have valid Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificates, the order seems working for the transport department.
People are seen thronging at the petrol stations as there has been a rise of more than double in the number of vehicles getting registered with renewed PUC certificates, transport department officials said.
The official data revealed that close to 30,000 vehicles are renewing their PUC certificates every day, against the usual rush of 12,000. The data translates into a 250% rise. Navlendra Kumar Singh, Joint Commissioner, Transport Department, said that around 3.5 lakh vehicles have renewed their expired PUC certificates in mere 12 days. “The pendency was around 23 lakh on October 1, which has come down to 19.5 lakh currently,” he said.
Even after the expiry of the validity of the PUC certificate, more than 23.5 lakh people, who were not getting their vehicles’ pollution checked for weeks, months, and years, were sent a notice by the transport department last week via text messages and mail. They were warned that if the vehicle is not tested for pollution within a week, a challan of Rs 10,000 will be imposed and the registration of the vehicle may also be cancelled.
Singh said that the enforcement team of the department is already on the ground to impose the warning.
“One official each has been deployed on all the gas stations where they will check the violation and will fine accordingly,” he said. Along with this, the teams of the enforcement wing of the transport department have also intensified the checking of vehicles causing pollution and those found running without a valid PUC.
According to the data, PUC for 21,974 vehicles was validated on October 10 while 37,043 vehicles renewed their PUC on October 11. Meanwhile, over 38,000 vehicles were registered on October 12. The department hopes the influx will increase further as the deadline for no refuelling without a valid PUC is coming close.
The government on Wednesday asked all fuel stations in the national capital to gear up to refuel only those vehicles which have valid PUC certificates from October 25. In a notice issued by the transport department, owners of vehicles more than a year old (except electric or battery-driven vehicles) were also asked to get the certificates. It also formed teams to check buses coming from neighbouring states at the Anand Vihar bus terminal for PUCs.