Gurugram traffic police impound 114 vehicles, penalise 63 contractors in 3 days

Police said their teams are doing the rounds to check air pollution caused by dust emanating from construction sites and submitting reports on a daily basis. They are also penalising drivers/owners of heavy vehicles carrying construction materials if the materials are not covered

Twenty teams of the traffic police have impounded 114 vehicles and penalised contractors on 63 construction sites in the last three days in a bid to keep a check on the high pollution levels in the city.

Sanjeev Balhara, assistant commissioner of police (traffic), said that they are also spreading awareness to urge private vehicle users to get their pollution under control (PUC) certificates updated regularly to bring down vehicular pollution across the city. (Representational image/HT Archive)

As per the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) bulletin, the city recorded an average Air Quality Index (AQI) reading of 310 on Monday, better than the AQI reading of 364 on Sunday. Since November 14, the city’s AQI has been in the “very poor” category.

Police said their teams are doing the rounds to check air pollution caused by dust emanating from construction sites and submitting reports on a daily basis. They are also penalising drivers/owners of heavy vehicles carrying construction materials if the materials are not covered, leading to pollution, said police. Police said they collected fines totalling to ₹11.15 lakh from contractors at six construction sites over the last three days so far.

Trucks, apart from those carrying essentials, are not allowed to enter the Capital until November 26 and have been asked to take the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway towards other states.

Sanjeev Balhara, assistant commissioner of police (traffic), said that they are also spreading awareness at petrol pumps to urge private vehicle users to get their pollution under control (PUC) certificates updated regularly to bring down vehicular pollution across the city. “We are adhering to the National Green Tribunal’s directions and a full-scale drive against petrol and diesel vehicles older than 15 and 10 years, respectively, is continuously going on across the city. We have impounded 82 petrol vehicles, which were more than 15 years old, and 32 diesel vehicles, which were more than 10 years old, in the last three days,” he said.

Balhara said they are also focusing on spreading awareness on regular pollution checks as the level of pollution can be brought down by up to 20% if vehicular emissions are controlled. “This year, owners of 3,000 vehicles were fined for not having pollution certificates, and 646 of them were second-time violators,” he said.