No petrol, diesel without pollution certificate at petrol pumps in Delhi from Oct 25
India Today
The Arvind Kejriwal-led government has decided to make pollution certificates mandatory to buy petrol and diesel from petrol pumps in the national capital from October 25.
The Delhi government has decided to make pollution certificates or PUCs (Pollution Under Control Certificates) mandatory to buy petrol and diesel from pumps across the national capital from October 25. The government will issue notification soon, state environment minister Gopal Rai said on Saturday.
The move is expected to reduce air pollution, especially during this winter.
Vehicular pollution is a grave concern in Delhi, especially during the winters. Even though teams are deployed to check pollution certificates, a large section of people are not renewing PUCs. Hence, polluted smoke adds to Delhi's pollution, pushing the AQI index into very poor category. According to the government, this move has been in the offing since March 2021.
A public notice was issued in March 2021 seeking suggestions from the citizens. Apart from this, suggestions from different departments were also taken into account before framing the policy.
However, the petrol pump association suggested that if PUC is made mandatory for petrol and diesel, then the law and order situation may worsen. Based on this, on September 29, the Environment Department, along with the officials of Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), Transport Department, Food Department, and Traffic Police, directed all the departments to find a solution.
Now, all departments will submit a plan within a week. After this, the Delhi government will issue the notification. And from October 25, drivers without pollution certificates will not get petrol or diesel at the petrol pumps.
A day earlier, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal announced a 15-point winter action plan and said that the plan will serve as a blueprint for the government to fight pollution this winter season.
