Cleaning the capital’s dirty air is going to get a major help from the Delhi government’s plan to station mobile vehicle emission check vans in the parking lots of the Metro and local bodies.

The initiative to help people easily get a pollution under check (PUC) certificates is part of a strategy to double the existing the number of 600 checks points in the city.“We want to make it as easy as possible for motorists to get PUC, virtually at their doorsteps,” said an environment department official.

The mobile PUC checking units are planned to be stationed in parking lots of the Metro, the New Delhi Municipal Council and the municipal corporations. 

“The idea is that people should also be able to get a pollution check at leisure and not just at the petrol pumps which they usually visit in a rush,” said an official.

Of the existing 600 PUC checking points in the city, 400 are at petrol pumps. Out the 400 pumps, about 250 are fixed units and the rest are mobile units.

No PUC, no fuel

According to the recent government decision, motorists not having a PUC certificate will not be able to fill their tanks as it will be made mandatory for petrol pumps to check the certificate before selling diesel and petrol.

From October 2, no vehicle without a valid three-month PUC would be given fuel at petrol pumps.

The move is based on the suggestion of an expert committee to check vehicular pollution which hinted that motorists could be arm twisted into getting  pollution under check certificate (PUC) regularly, if the certificate could be made compulsory for tanking up at petrol stations.

“The recommendation has been accepted,” Chief Secretary S K Srivastava said.A senior official said in the first week of next month that the Delhi government would first launch a campaign to educate people and other stakeholders.

A plan is also being devised to plug possible loopholes to make PUC certificates mandatory for buying fuel at petrol pumps. 

“Some petrol pumps are not checking even the CNG safety stickers before filling CNG tanks, similar lapses may happen with the plan to make PUC certificates mandatory for buying petrol and diesel,” said an official.

“We may increase the number of flying squads for conducting surprise checks at petrol pumps,” he said.