Delhi: Pollution certificates not mandatory for refuelling from Oct 25

According to an analysis by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) in November last year, vehicles are the biggest contributor to local particulate matter in Delhi.

A Pollution Under-Control (PUC) certificate will not be mandatory for refuelling vehicles across the Capital from October 25, environment minister Gopal Rai said on Friday, adding that representatives of petroleum and diesel associations informed the government that the move may lead to chaos at petrol pumps.

Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai announced on October 12 that the government will make PUCs mandatory in a move to curb vehicular emissions ahead of winter when air pollution peaks in Delhi. (ANI file photo)

The minister had announced on October 12 that the government will make PUCs mandatory in a move to curb vehicular emissions ahead of winter when air pollution peaks in Delhi.

In a press conference, the minister clarified: “PUC will not be mandatory for refuelling at filling stations from October 25. Representatives of the petroleum and diesel associations have given us multiple suggestions regarding law and order. We will discuss them with chief minister (Arvind Kejriwal),” Rai said.

Rai also announced that the first phase of the anti-vehicular pollution campaign “Red Light On Gaadi Off” will take place from October 28 to November 28, during which Delhi government volunteers will run vehicular pollution awareness campaigns. As part of the campaign, public representatives and officials motivate commuters to turn their vehicles off at signals in a bid to curb vehicular pollution.

Ajay Bansal, president of All India Petroleum Dealers Association, said, “Making PUC mandatory for refuelling may lead to a law-and-order situation at filling stations. The petrol pumps are under Essential Services Maintenance Act and they cannot refuse refilling to anyone. We communicated all this the Delhi government.”

According to an analysis by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) in November last year, vehicles are the biggest contributor to local particulate matter in Delhi. The government has launched a crackdown on polluting vehicles and deployed 120 enforcement teams across the city to make people aware that the PUC certificate is a mandatory document certifying that the vehicle’s tailpipe emission falls within permissible limits. The owner of a vehicle plying without a valid PUC certificate is liable to be prosecuted under Section 190(2) of the Motor Vehicles Act and may be imprisoned for up to three months or fined up to ₹10,000, or both. Delhi has around 966 PUC checking centres. Random checks are also done by pollution level test inspectors to ensure that PUC centres are issuing accurate certificates.

The “Red Light On Gaadi Off” campaign has proven to be successful in the past in spreading awareness about vehicular pollution, a Delhi government official said.

“CM Kejriwal has approved the deployment of 2,500 civil defence volunteers to implement the campaign on ground. Awareness campaign will run in two shifts from 8am to 2pm, and 2pm to 8pm,” Rai said at a press conference.