In order to ensure that polluting vehicles are off Delhi roads, the Delhi Government has decided to stop sale of diesel and petrol to vehicles which do not possess Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificates.
The decision to this effect comes as per the recommendation of the city government’s high-powered committee on environment constituted by Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung. After getting an in-principle approval from the Lieutenant-General, Chief Secretary S.K. Srivastava directed the concerned departments on Wednesday to implement the decision.
“The Chief Secretary held a meeting on Wednesday wherein he has directed the transport and environment departments to implement the decision. After taking public opinion on the issue, it will be advertised properly. It is likely to be implemented from October,” said a senior Environment Department official.
All vehicles registered till 2010 are required to get PUC certificates reissued every three months, while those purchased after 2010 have to get the certification done annually.
Till now, the transport department used to slap monetary fine on vehicles owners not having PUC certificate during special drives conducted by the government agencies. However, with such measures failing to make vehicle owners accountable, the State government has taken the decision to tighten the noose against such vehicle owners.
As per the transport department officials, about 80 lakh vehicles are registered in the city. Of these around 50 percent of them are estimated to be plying on the city roads on any given day. However, transport department officials claim, not more than 50 percent of the vehicles on road have PUC certificates.
Currently, the PUC certificates are issued through printed receipts. However, in the new regime, the government wants to issue stickers that could be pasted on the vehicles.
“While all petrol pump owners would be directed to equip themselves with the PUC certification centres, they might be asked to upgrade their facility to issue coloured stickers or sticker with RFID (radio frequency identification) facility,” an official said.
