The Hindu : PUC certificates of other States will not be valid from April 1

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Mar 25, 2003

Other States

Other States - New Delhi

PUC certificates of other States will not be valid from April 1

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI MARCH 24 .Thousands of trucks, inter-State buses and other commercial vehicles which enter the Capital every day for various destinations and contribute immensely to the air pollution would be penalised from April 1. These vehicles would be subjected to the latest stringent computerised photographic Pollution Under Control (PUC) regime already in force here.

No longer would the easily available PUC certificates from other States be valid in Delhi. For running their vehicles in Delhi and passing through the Capital, these vehicles would have to obtain PUC certificates from the 345 computerised outlets in the Capital.

The Transport Department would launch a massive drive from April 1 to check the entry of such vehicles and ensure they comply with the latest provisions of the law.

And the fine amount has also been enhanced to Rs. 1,000 for the first offence and Rs. 2,000 for the second and subsequent offences.

Announcing this in the Delhi Assembly today, the Delhi Transport Minister, Ajay Maken, declared that PUC certificates obtained from others States would not be valid in Delhi.

These vehicles would be required to carry only valid PUC certificates having photograph of the vehicle registration plate. Vehicles with PUC certificates but not having a photograph would be challaned for violation of the Rule 115(7) of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules 1989.

The decision to implement the new regime has been taken to control vehicular pollution more effectively and is in spirit with the directions of the Supreme Court, Mr. Maken said.

Experts believe that the situation has deteriorated during the past few years as these vehicles, mostly inter-State buses and trucks, did not adhere to the latest pollution norms and flouted them by obtaining fictitious PUC certificates.

In addition to this, the PUC certificate technology in the neighbouring States is obsolete and often vehicles were found emitting far more pollutants than the permitted levels.

Mr. Maken said the decision follows the recent upgradation of pollution checking facilities in Delhi. In this system, the photograph of the vehicle registration number plate is printed on the pollution checking report and the pollution level measured by the equipment is directly recorded without any human intervention.

"Our squads would be stationed at various points across the Capital, especially the entry points and look for such vehicles. An intense check would be carried out of such vehicles and those found violating the law could face harsh penalty. We could even think of putting a ban on entry of such vehicles if they continue with the violations,'' he added.

Mr. Maken said a large number of outlets across the Capital are equipped to issue PUC computerised photographic certificates and outside vehicles should have no problems in undergoing such checks.

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