New Delhi: The Delhi government has launched a massive drive to crack down on motorists who do not have a valid pollution under control (PUC) certificate for their vehicles.
The drive came amid widespread concern over drop in air quality that has been attributed for the smog cover which had recently blanketed the city for several days.
Thirty teams of transport department`s enforcement wing have been deployed to carry out drive which will continue till November 23.
All vehicles coming from Uttar Pradesh and Haryana would be checked at border posts so that no polluting vehicle can enter Delhi, officials said.
If a motorist does not have a PUC certificate and if he is a first time offender, then a fine of Rs 1,000 will be imposed while the fine amount will be Rs 2,000 in case of second time offenders.
Besides checking PUC certificates, the enforcement teams will also check pollution levels of the vehicles. According to official figures, Delhi has over 60 lakh vehicles.
As per norms, the motorists have to get PUC certificates for their vehicles after every three months but for Euro-IV vehicles, a pollution certificate is required at a gap of one year.
Officials said PUC certificate is must for all new vehicles, whose registration period has crossed one year.
Special stickers having tamper-proof holograms would be pasted on the vehicles after being checked by the enforcement squads, they said.
Currently, Delhi has 650 pollution checking centres from where motorists can get their PUC certificates.
Getting a PUC certificate for two and three wheelers costs Rs 60 while for petrol vehicles (four-wheeler) the cost is Rs 80. The fee charged by the pollution checking centres for diesel vehicles is Rs 100.
Enforcement teams would impound vehicles fitted with unauthorised CNG kits, they said.
Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, after a meeting on air pollution, had said that the government was contemplating a number of short and long-term measures to improve the air quality in the national capital.
PTI
