JOIN USThe transport department’s surprise emission check drive on Tuesday landed 300 vehicles in trouble. Of them, 200 belonged to the government.
Vehicles were booked for lacking pollution under check certificate (PUC).
Some PUCs had expired. As per the Motor Vehicle Act, emission test must be carried out every six months for which a PUC certificate will be issued.
The drive began at 6 am in Cubbon Park and lasted well past 1 pm. The area around Cubbon Park houses several government buildings, including Vidhana Soudha, High Court, M S Building, Office of the Lokayukta and the PWD.
The enforcement team led by Joint Commissioner Narendra Holkar told Deccan Herald: “We conducted the drive and booked 300 four-wheelers, most of which were government vehicles. These vehicles did not have PUCs to show that they have undergone the mandatory biannual emission test.”
Several government vehicles were ferrying senior bureaucrats to their offices when the team was cracking down on violators.
The drive attracted mixed response, with some senior bureaucrats, whose vehicles were stopped, threatening the enforcement team with dire consequences.
A high court judge appreciated the effort and told the team that the PUC was at his residence and he would have his driver produce it before the department.
Officials said there “exists a provision wherein a vehicle that has a PUC but fails to produce it before the team can present it within a stipulated period. This will attract Rs 100 fine or else one has to pay a penalty of Rs 1,000-2,000 in case of an expired certificate or a repeat offence.”
Transport Department officials said only 15-20 per cent of vehicles had PUCs and the rest had not undergone emission test.