BHUBANESWAR: Facing flak for sending thousands of vehicle owners to serpentine queues for about a week, the Odisha government on Wednesday deferred - for the second time in a week - deadline for the mandatory pollution under control certificate (PUCC) checks by one more month till March 31, 2026, buckling under immense pressure.
The government had originally planned to enforce ‘no PUCC, no fuel’ rule from January 1 and instructed the oil companies. After mounting pressure, it pushed the deadline to February 1. However, pollution testing centres across the state continued to witness long queues, heaping misery on the vehicle owners.
Announcing the second deferment, Minister of Commerce and Transport Bibhuti Bhusan Jena said the department decided to extend the deadline for obtaining PUCC till March 31 to ensure vehicle owners do not face any inconvenience. The number of pollution testing centres will also be increased and those willing to set up these units will be provided licence within 24 hours, he added. There are over 850 registered pollution testing centres in the state.
Making another volte face, the minister said green stickers displaying compliances is not mandatory for vehicles in the state. He had announced last week that green stickers displaying compliances will become mandatory from February.
“Displaying green stickers is not mandatory but will be convenient for enforcement officials as well as the vehicle owners. Those who have obtained PUCC can get green stickers from the regional transport offices (RTOs),” said Jena.
Jena also warned that stringent action will be initiated against the testing centres issuing fake certificates. So far, the State Transport Authority (STA) has cancelled licence of at least 42 testing centres across the state.
The pollution testing centres have been experiencing a massive rush after STA issued a strict directive to all oil marketing companies (OMCs) operating in Odisha that vehicles without valid PUCCs would be denied fuel at petrol pumps.
STA sources said there are at least 60 lakh vehicles whose PUCC has not been renewed and about 20 lakh owners never applied for the certificate after buying the vehicles. In case of a new vehicle, PUCC is not required for one year from the date of registration.
After one year, a vehicle owner has to obtain PUCC from an authorised agency and it is valid for six months for vehicles up to BS-III standards and one year for BS-IV and BS-VI vehicles.
PUCC is mandatory for all petrol, diesel and CNG-powered motor vehicles, including two-wheelers, cars, trucks, buses and auto-rickshaws.
Driving without a valid PUCC in the state can attract a hefty fine of up to `10,000 under the revised Motor Vehicles Act along with imprisonment up to three months.
test details
No PUCC, no petrol deadline pushed to March 31, 2026
Green sticker not mandatory
Fake testing centres to face action
42 licences cancelled
850 testing centres in state
93 lakh registered vehicles
PUCC VALIDITY STICKER FROM JAN 10
Bhubaneswar: Amid the rush for renewal of pollution under check certificates (PUCCs), the state government on Wednesday made it clear that the PUCC validity sticker is only a facilitative visual indicator that does not replace the statutory certificate (Form 59) and not a mandatory necessity.
After a meeting chaired by Commerce and Transport secretary Usha Padhee, the Transport department informed that vehicles not having such stickers will not be fined by any enforcement authority if they possess valid PUCC.
However, the state government has decided to operationalise a standardised, secure, self-adhesive PUCC validity sticker system for eligible vehicles. The PUC centres will issue stickers from January 10 onwards for vehicles undergoing pollution tests.
Sources said all authorised PUC testing centres will issue the validity sticker only after successful completion of the emission test and generation of Form 59. Vehicles tested up to January 9 and issued PUCC in Form 59 shall obtain the sticker from their RTO concerned after verification of PUCC details from the VAHAN database. “PUCC validity stickers shall be made available for all internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.
Each RTO shall open a dedicated counter for issuance of PUCC validity stickers,” said a Transport department official. The stickers will carry a unique serial number, vehicle registration number, PUCC validity and name of authorised PUC test centre. Any sticker with overwriting, correction or tampering shall be treated as invalid.