Over 2.85 lakh Pollution Under Control Certificates (PUCCs) were issued in Delhi over the last 15 days, according to transport department records, with stricter enforcement on the ground in view of the grim situation in regard to air pollution.
Mandatory for vehicles plying on the road and supposed to be renewed at regular intervals, PUCCs cost between Rs 60 and Rs 100 but not having one results in a fine of Rs 10,000 — something which over 3,300 drivers aboard vehicles across categories without a valid PUCC found out the hard way between November 1 and 15.
More than 38,000 vehicles were subjected to random checking leading to fines totalling above Rs 3.33 crore during the period, as per transport department data.
Government sources said not having a valid PUCC was among the most common violation that had surfaced since the imposition of Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) provisions, with hundreds of teams deployed to check vehicular violations.
“The central VAHAN database recorded that an estimated 22 lakh vehicles registered in Delhi of the around 75 lakh vehicles in the city did not have valid PUCCs at the beginning of this month — that is those which have not been de-registered after reaching the end of their lifecycle,” a government official said.
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As part of its Winter Action Plan to tackle pollution, the department’s enforcement drives have picked up across the city, with a special focus on 13 hotspots.
Enforcement teams are also deployed at 22 stretches of the Inner and Outer Ring Road in two shifts between 4 am and 12 pm, and from 12 pm to 8 pm.
Mobile patrolling teams have also been deployed to check PUC violations from 9 am to 6 pm.