New Delhi: Delhiites will soon have to provide a Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificate for filling fuel at pumps, as per the announcement made by the state government on Friday.
The government will soon make it mandatory to have the PUC certificate ready for fuelling at petrol pumps but not before taking the public's opinion on it.
The draft policy will be placed for public opinion before being notified, the statement mentioned.
The state's Environment Minister Gopal Rai said that the policy will ensure that polluting vehicles do not ply in the city — another step towards providing clean air to the residents.
"With this policy in place, vehicles will be mandated to have their PUC certificate with them at the fuelling station. Thus, pollution levels of every single vehicle in the state will be kept in check from time to time," Rai said.
Advisor to the Environment Minister, Reena Gupta said that vehicle owners will have to carry their PUCC to the fuel pump and in case the PUCC is found invalid they will have to get it reissued at the pump.
The PUC certificate is a means for vehicles issued through registered PUC centres to control vehicular tailpipe emissions with the Capital having around 966 centres spread over 10 zones. The centres help in monitoring vehicular pollution and certifying fitness of vehicles as per emission norms. Random checks are also done by Pollution Level Test Inspectors to ensure that accurate certificates are being issued by the PUC centres, the Environment department said in a statement.
The government is also working on setting up technology based methods for effective implementation of the policy so as to ensure that vehicle owners as well as petrol pump owners don't face any inconvenience and avoid long queues because of checking of PUC certificates.
"While the exact mechanisms are being worked out, the methods can also include technologies like RFID," the statement added.
As per department experience PUCC enforcement is highly effective when conducted at fuel stations, thus it has been proposed to make PUC certification mandatory for refuelling of vehicles at Petrol Pumps.
"The Delhi government has taken yet another revolutionary step to link valid PUC certificates and fuel purchase. This affirms the commitment of the Kejriwal government towards ensuring a clean air for all citizens of Delhi," Gupta added.