Environmentalists have welcomed the directive of the Supreme Court that mandates all vehicles to hold a pollution under control (PUC) certificate to be eligible for the annual insurance.
“Investigation by the EPCA has revealed a very poor level of compliance with the PUC programme. In Delhi, only 23% of vehicles come for PUC tests. With mandatory linking of the annual vehicle insurance with a valid PUC certificate, the compliance level can improve significantly,” said Sunita Narain, director general, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE).
The apex court passed the order on a petition seeking stringent steps to curb air pollution
New guidelines
As per the new directive, PUC centres will allowed in all fuel stations and an automatic online network will be introduced to link PUC data centres. Recommendations related to improvement in PUC norms for pre-BSIV vehicles, upgraded test procedures and other systemic changes will be heard in September.
‘Better compliance must’
Anumita Roychowdhury, CSE’s executive director (research and advocacy), said: “The PUC system is critical to keep emissions of on-road vehicles under check. Overall improvement in compliance will lead to lesser emissions on road.”
She added that the direction to the government to audit all PUC centres would require a much stronger oversight system and a disciplined management.
“This is a major step forward in the battle to combat air pollution in the Capital and across India,” said Ms. Roychowdhury.
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