Express News Service
CHENNAI: A Suresh* has been using his Tata Indica for almost 20 years. During this period, he should have renewed his Pollution Under Control Certificate (PUCC) 38 times but, he renewed it only six times after the first year from the purchase date.
“I was very particular in the beginning but then I got lazy,” he says. “Besides, it is not as if there is any supervision by the authorities that pushed me to go to one of the centres and get the check done. When I went to get the fitness certificate for my vehicle after 15 years, the RTO inspector insisted that I get an emission test done before giving the fitness certificate, but otherwise, I have not felt the need to do it.”
The emission of smoke from motor vehicles is a source of air pollution. Specific standards for the permissible limits for such emission have been prescribed in the Motor Vehicles Act 1988 and Central Motor Vehicles Rules 1989. As per the norms, all vehicles which are in operation for more than a year should undergo emission tests every six months. However, like Suresh, there are a number of vehicle owners who do not adhere to the rules.
There are 332 Private Emission Testing Centres throughout Tamil Nadu and 63 in Chennai, said an official from the State Transport Authority (STA). As per rule 116 (B) of Tamil Nadu Motor Vehicles Rules 1989, it is mandatory that at the time of every transaction with Regional Transport Offices, the certificate of Pollution Under Control should be checked. In practice, many stakeholders said this was not followed rigidly.
“It is unreasonable to expect the inspectors to run after people every six months for renewal of the PUC certificate. It is the owner’s responsibility to ensure that it is done on time,” said an official of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) who did not wish to be named.
The STA rubbished claims of checking PUC certificates only at the time of issuing fitness certificates. “The department is keeping a close watch and so are traffic police,” he said. “We have given a strict order to all the RTOs to check the certificate for any transaction. Those who are pulled up for not having a valid certificate are liable to pay a fine of `1,000.” The official added that not having a valid PUC certificate could get vehicle owners penalised not only during random checks but also when entering other states.
On the ground, however, RTO officials said PUC certificates are low on the priority list. “We are more concerned about keeping bad drivers off the roads,” said one of the field officers working at an RTO in the suburbs. “We have our hands full with issuing driving licences and completing registrations. PUC renewal and conscious checking for the same barely happens. It generally only comes up when fitness certificates have to be provided and for any insurance documentation.”
Another issue that comes to light is the closure of a number of private emission-testing centres due to inactivity. The TNPCB official claimed that nearly 150 centres were closed down in the state. “I had a private emission testing centre five years ago in Dindugal,” said S Ramesh. “I hardly had any customers because barely anyone follows the six-month norms. There were people who came five years later to get their certificate renewed.”
As per data available on the department’s website for 2016-17, of 2,11,842 vehicles that were checked in north Chennai, 8,016 did not have PUC certificates, making it the highest number in the state. In south Chennai, 1,17,915 were checked during the same period and the number of vehicles without a PUC certificate was significantly lower at 575.“These checks not only help to keep a tab on air pollution, but they also let the owner know if there are any issues with their vehicle,” said the TNPCB official.
(*Name changed on request)
