To ensure that polluting vehicles do not ply in the national capital, Delhi government will soon make the Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificate mandatory for filling fuel at pumps.
Environment Minister Gopal Rai said: "This is a very ambitious policy being brought forth by the Arvind 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 certificate 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."
"The policy will effectively help us ensure that polluting vehicles do not ply in Delhi and residents can enjoy cleaner air. The policy is being placed for public opinion and review before being notified," he added.
The pollution under control (PUC) certificate is an important means for vehicles issued through registered PUC centres to control vehicular tailpipe emissions.
Delhi has around 966 such centres spread over 10 zones.
They are instrumental in monitoring vehicular pollution and certifying fitness of vehicles as per emission norms.
Random checks are also done by Pollution Level Test Inspectors to ensure that accurate certificates are being issued by the PUC centres.
As per department experience, PUCC enforcement is highly effective when conducted at fuel stations, thus it has been proposed to make PUC certification mandatory for refuelling of vehicles at Petrol Pumps in Delhi, in view of the importance of non-polluting vehicles on road amidst the poor air quality levels of Delhi.
Along with the approval of the policy, the government is also working on setting up technology-based methods for 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 because of checking of PUC certificate.
While the exact mechanisms are being worked out, these methods can also include technologies like RFID, Delhi government said in a release.