NEW DELHI: Next time you visit a petrol pump, you may have to show your ‘Pollution Under Control’ (PUC) certificate to get your vehicle tanked up since the Delhi government is all set to make it mandatory.
A draft policy on this will be placed for public opinion before being notified. Environment Minister Gopal Rai said the policy would help to ensure that polluting vehicles don’t ply on Delhi roads and that residents can enjoy cleaner air.
Reena Gupta, Advisor to the Environment Minister, said the policy affirms the commitment of the AAP government towards ensuring clean air for all residents of Delhi. Vehicle owners will have to carry their PUC certificates to the pump. In case, the PUC is found invalid, they will have to get it reissued at the pump.
Rai said: “This is a very ambitious policy brought forth by the Kejriwal government. North India, including Delhi, faces grave air pollution, particularly in winter. With this policy in place, vehicles will be mandated to have their PUC certificates with them at the fuelling station. Thus, pollution levels of every single vehicle in the state will be kept in check from time to time.”
As per department experience, PUC enforcement is highly effective when conducted at fuel stations. Thus, it has been proposed to make PUC certification mandatory for the refueling of vehicles at petrol pumps in Delhi.
The government is also working on setting up technology-based methods for the effective implementation of this policy so as to ensure that vehicle owners, as well as petrol pump owners, don’t face any inconvenience and there are no long queues due to the checking of PUC certificates.
Motorists Rajesh Sharma said: “I wonder if showing PUC at petrol pumps will be able to check pollution in the city because generally every vehicle passes pollution test and gets the certificate. How will this check pollution?”
Another commuter, Saurabh Srivastava, said, “Last year also, there had come a similar proposal but nothing worked out. The pollution control measures need to be taken seriously and checking every PUC will not be easy as it will lead to a huge rush at the pumps. The process is time-consuming.”