Behind the smoke screen

Barely 20 per cent of vehicles in Bengaluru have a valid emission certificate.

Isn’t it a wonder that even with compulsory emission tests, sputtering exhausts and plumes of smoke are a common sight in the city?

With over 50 lakh vehicles registered in the city, the transport department notes that a little more than 8.1 lakh may have valid emission certificates.

While officials were still tabulating the numbers from their servers – which is a central database where certificates of all 306 emission centres in the city are uploaded – Maruti Sambrani, joint commissioner (environment and e-governance) says on average just 4,500 certificates are registered in the system daily.

With emission certificates (or, Pollution Under Control -PUC- certificates) valid for six months, the number of valid certificates comes up to just around 8 lakh.

“Some may have got their certificates from out of the city. But, there is no way to tell the exact number of people who do not have certificates now,” said Mr. Sambrani.

Apart from wilfully dodging the law, a recent survey pointed to a prevalent ignorance when it comes to emission certificates. The Citizen Awareness and Attitude Survey showed that 56 per cent of Bengalureans did not know when their PUC certificate was due for renewal.

Bogus certificates The low numbers may even hide the scourge of “bogus” certificates. Over the past year, the department claims to have penalised 96 centres for various violations. However, M.B. Nagaraja, an emission test vendor who has actively pursued criminal cases against centres issuing bogus certificates, believes “at least 70 per cent” of the centres use faulty apparatus to give out certificates.

“The calibrations are wrong. During testing, the driver needs to step on the accelerator. Yet, the figures in certificates we took at various centres, show no change. Some even show zero emission. This means the measurements do not work, and yet the servers accept these readings. In some cases, the centre will not be connected to the server, and fake certificates are given,” he said.

SMS to remind motorists With “forgetfulness” to renew being among the prime reasons for invalid emission certificates, the State Transport Department is attempting to bring about a software to send a reminder to motorists close to the due date for renewal.

Maruti Sambrani, joint commissioner (environment and e-governance) said the department hopes to intimate customers through SMSes two days before the PUC certificate become invalid. “During the emission test, commuters give their mobile numbers to vendors. We are in talks with these vendors to implement the system,” he said.

While the technical infrastructure exists, Mr. Sambrani said modalities of payment for the messages are being chalked out.