Database gap: Karnataka registration vehicles travelling to Odisha get e-challan despite having PUCC
BHUBANESWAR: Odisha government’s enforcement drive against vehicles not possessing pollution check certificates has brought to fore a data gap between states as vehicle owners with Karnataka registration numbers are found to have been issued e-challans despite possessing pollution under control certificates (PUCCs).
In multiple instances, Odias travelling back to the state have reported receipt of e-challans issued by the State Transport Authority (STA).
Media professional Sameer Bakshi who works in Bengaluru and recently came home to meet his family was taken aback when he received a challan. “After returning from Odisha, I received an e-challan message that said my vehicle does not have a valid PUCC,” he said.
Bakshi had obtained a PUCC from a pollution testing centre in Karnataka. He spoke to his vendor to verify the matter and was told that his certificate is genuine. “This is problematic since people travelling long distance could be denied refuelling on the way if there are conflicting issues about PUCC,” he said.
Like Bakshi, Ashis Baliarsingh, another traveller, took to X after he received an e-challan despite possessing a valid PUCC. Baliarsingh tagged Union minister Nitin Gadkari, Odisha Chief Minister’s Office and STA requesting to help him regarding the e-challans issued to him without any violation. “I was driving from Bengaluru to Odisha with all documents, including valid PUCC from Karnataka. However, I was still fined Rs 20,000 for no fault of mine,” he said.
STA officials acknowledged the issue exists but claimed that it has emerged since Karnataka’s Transport department is yet to share PUCC details of vehicles registered with it on the Vahan database.
“After receiving complaints from owners of Karnataka registration vehicles on receiving e-challans in Odisha, the matter was raised with the Transport department of the southern state,” said Transport commissioner-cum-chairman of STA, Amitabh Thakur.
Karnataka Transport department has shared the URL of a database consisting of the PUCC details of its vehicles. On receiving a complaint from the owner of a Karnataka registration vehicle, the details are being checked and e-challans dropped if the vehicle owner has a valid PUCC, he added. The vehicle owners can raise the complaints through STA’s mail ID, helpline and WhatsApp numbers available on its website, he added.
Meanwhile, due to heavy rush to avail PUCC in the state, many vehicle owners are complaining that their certificates do not reflect on Vahan even after obtaining it from testing centres. “If any owner has received an e-challan despite having a valid PUCC, then the penalty notice will be dropped if they produce their certificates before the RTO,” said Thakur.
The STA said a separate counter has been opened in every regional transport office (RTO) to collect fines from PUCC violators offline in case they are facing difficulty to make the payment online.