The Delhi government will launch an enforcement drive against vehicles with invalid Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificates from October 1, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said on Saturday.
Gupta, who inaugurated an Automated Testing Station (ATS) in Burari, said the government was taking several steps to reduce air pollution in the national capital.
“We want to ensure that every person in Delhi gets clean air to breathe. This enforcement will be done to check whether the Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificates are valid. Delhi government is working round the year to reduce air pollution; this is one step towards that,” she said.
The chief minister said the system of PUC centres in Delhi would also be made more effective and reliable.
“The enforcement system related to valid Pollution Under Control certificates will be implemented in Delhi from October 1. At the same time, work will also be undertaken to strengthen the monitoring and functioning of PUC centres through technology,” she said in a statement.
Gupta claimed that the ATS inaugurated in Burari was the country’s biggest and said it marked another step in the government’s efforts to improve air quality in Delhi.
“More commercial vehicles will be tested and checked for pollution norms through this,” she added.
The Burari ATS will have the capacity to test 40,000 heavy motor vehicles and 60,000 light motor vehicles annually.
“Fitness tests will be carried out through a fully automated process, covering parameters such as braking efficiency, suspension performance, headlight condition, side-slip, emission levels and the underside of vehicles,” Transport Minister Pankaj Singh said.
Earlier, on September 3, another ATS with an annual capacity to test around 72,000 vehicles was inaugurated at Tehkhand, he said.
The Delhi government is also installing cameras at all PUC centres issuing certificates, Gupta said.
