Long queues remain outside PUC centres in Delhi

The surge in numbers, however, caused temporary glitches at some centres, exacerbating the wait times for vehicle owners

New Delhi

A queue outside a PUC centre in Mayur Vihar. (RAJ K RAJ /HT PHOTO)

Serpentine queues continued outside pollution-under-control (PUC) certification centres across the Capital for a third consecutive day on Friday, as vehicle owners scrambled to get their papers in order to procure fuel, as mandated under the latest set of curbs to cut air pollution.

The surge in numbers, however, caused temporary glitches at some centres, exacerbating the wait times for vehicle owners.

Environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa, meanwhile, said that the government has stepped up its crackdown on polluting and non-compliant vehicles, and 11,776 challans on Friday. “Teams from multiple departments, along with the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), are working round-the-clock to ensure compliance with pollution norms. The government has adopted a coordinated approach covering vehicular emissions, dust control, waste management and traffic regulation,” said Sirsa.

On the traffic and transport front, enforcement teams stopped and diverted 542 non-destined trucks away from the Capital. Authorities also worked to decongest 34 identified traffic choke points. Traffic police and transport department teams were deployed at city entry points, toll plazas and petrol pumps to check pollution certificates and BS-VI compliance.

A day after the enforcement of mandatory PUC certification and BS-VI norms at petrol pumps and border points, awareness among commuters has increased, as a majority of motorists at fuel stations were seen voluntarily producing documents while refuelling.

Nischal Singhania, president of the Delhi Petrol Dealers’ Association, said queues at PUC centres remained largely unchanged, while fuel sales had declined at some border-area petrol pumps. He said uncertainty earlier about the duration of the ‘No PUC, No Fuel’ rule had eased, with clarity that the measure would remain in force as long as GRAP-IV restrictions were in place.

“Petrol pumps in areas such as Badarpur are reporting a dip in sales, a trend that continued on Friday. Compliance levels have improved, with customers proactively showing their PUC certificates before refuelling now. However, enforcement is not uniform across all locations. At a few petrol pumps, commuters reported that no verification was carried out during their visits,” said Singhania.

Commuters, meanwhile, said that while the chaos due to checking at the borders had reduced, fuel stations remained busy, mostly for PUC issuance.