Explained: How are vehicles tested for pollution?

The fine for PUC violations has now gone up to Rs 10,000; it used to be Rs 1,000 for the first offence and Rs 2,000 for subsequent violations before the amendments came into force.

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Vehicular pollution estimates include 84.1 tonnes of nitrogen oxides and 66.7 tonnes of hydrocarbons per day. (File photo)

Since September 1, when the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019 came into force, long queues of vehicles are commonly being seen at pollution control centres in Delhi. After undergoing a pollution under control (PUC) test, a vehicle is certified for a certain period of time.

According to the Transport Department, Delhi, 217.7 tonnes of carbon monoxide is emitted every day by vehicles in the city. Vehicular pollution estimates include 84.1 tonnes of nitrogen oxides and 66.7 tonnes of hydrocarbons per day.

What is a PUC certificate?

The PUC certificate is a document that any person driving a motor vehicle can be asked to produce by a police officer in uniform authorised by the state government. According to the Transport Department, Delhi-NCR has 388 authorised pollution checking centres for petrol/CNG vehicles and 273 for diesel vehicles. These issue certificates if a vehicle is found complying with the prescribed emission norms.

The fine for PUC violations has now gone up to Rs 10,000; it used to be Rs 1,000 for the first offence and Rs 2,000 for subsequent violations before the amendments came into force. The test costs between Rs 60 and Rs 100. The validity of the test is one year for BS IV vehicles and three months for others. A PUC certificate contains information such as the vehicle’s license plate number, PUC test reading, date on which the PUC test was conducted and the expiry date.

How is a pollution control check carried out?

The computerised model for pollution check was developed by the Society of Indian Automobile manufacturers. A gas analyser is connected to a computer, to which a camera and a printer are attached. The gas analyser records the emission value and sends it to the computer directly, while the camera captures the license plate of the vehicle. Subsequently, a certificate may be issued if the emission values are within the limits.

In 2017 the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority for the National Capital Region was directed by the Supreme Court to carry out a physical inspection of the PUC centres, “to check if credible, authentic and reliable tests are being conducted to identify gross polluters”. There were 971 PUC centres in Delhi at that time. The EPCA noted that access to PUC emissions data is difficult, especially in NCR where data recording is manual. It said that in Delhi, only 1.68 per cent of diesel vehicles fail the smoke density test and about 4.5% of petrol vehicles failed the carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons tests. “Thus, this programme is not even designed to catch 15 to 20 per cent most grossly polluting vehicles in the fleet,” the report said.

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