Chief Minister Rekha Gupta announced in the assembly on Wednesday that the Delhi government will introduce a new policy for issuing Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificates to vehicles entering from other states. Presently, there is no mechanism at Delhi borders to vehicles entering from other states to track their pollution levels or adherence to environmental standards.
This move aims to tackle the growing air pollution issue in the capital. The move comes in response to the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report titled ‘Performance Audit of Prevention and Mitigation of Vehicular Air Pollution in Delhi’ for the year ended March 31, 2021’, which flagged lapses in the national capital’s pollution control mechanisms.
“These steps are crucial in strengthening Delhi’s fight against pollution, ensuring stricter enforcement and better infrastructure,” the chief minister said while speaking on the CAG report that was tabled in the House on Tuesday.
“The previous Government failed to establish an effective vehicle monitoring system, particularly for the numerous vehicles entering Delhi borders on a daily basis. There were no mechanisms to track their pollution levels or adherence to environmental standards,” the chief minister said.
“Our Government will implement a policy mandating pollution certification for all vehicles entering Delhi. Additionally, irregularities in vehicle registration,
renewal, and pollution certification processes-previously plagued by corruption-will be eliminated. These procedures will be subject to a third-party audit to ensure transparency and authenticity,” she added.
According to the CAG report, 22.14 lakh diesel vehicles checked at Pollution Checking Centres (PCCs) during the period 10 August 2015 to 31 August 2020, test values were not recorded in respect of 24 per cent vehicles. In 4,007 cases, even though the test values were beyond the permissible range, these diesel vehicles were declared ‘Pass’ and issued PUCCs. As per the PUC database for 10 August 2015 to 31 August 2020, 65.36 lakh Petrol/CNG/LPG vehicles were issued PUCCs.
More than 1.08 lakh vehicles were issued pollution under control (PUC) certificates despite them emitting carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbons (HC) beyond permissible limits, the reports said. In many cases, multiple vehicles were issued certificates at the same time, sometimes within a minute of each other, it said.
In 7,643 cases, more than one vehicle was shown to have been checked for emission limits at the same time at the same center. 76,865 cases were noticed in same test center wherein only one minute lapsed in checking of vehicle along with issuance of PUC certificate which may not be practically possible.
Between 2015 and 2020, nearly 4,000 diesel vehicles that exceeded pollution limits were still certified as compliant, allowing them to remain on the road despite their high emission levels, the report said. Out of the 47.51 lakh overage vehicles required to be deregistered from 2018-19 to 2020-21, the government deregistered only 2.98 lakh such vehicles, constituting a small fraction (6.27 per cent) of the end-of-life-vehicle (ELV), while a majority 93.73 per cent (44.53 lakh) of the ELVs had “active” registration status as of March 2021, the report said, indicating that these ELVs were still plying on Delhi roads.
In addition to the PUC policy, CM Gupta revealed plans to expand electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure across the city. By 2026, Delhi will have 48,000 EV charging points, with 18,000 being government-operated and 30,000 semi-private. The expansion is expected to promote the use of cleaner, environmentally-friendly vehicles.
As air pollution remains a persistent challenge in Delhi, the government’s latest measures aim to address policy gaps and improve regulatory oversight to ensure cleaner air for residents.
The chief minister said currently, 6,484 buses operate in Delhi, whereas 11,000 are required. By 2026, 11000 buses will run on Delhi roads. Additionally, legal measures will be taken to recover shares of the DIMTS that were previously sold for a nominal sum of Rs 10 crore. The Government will make sure that public funds and public property must not be misused. The chief minister further revealed plans to establish a new eco-park dedicated to processing electronic waste, aiming to curb air pollution caused by improper disposal of e-waste.
She also announced a significant expansion of electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure in Delhi, stating that by 2026, the city will have 48,000 charging points-18,000 government-operated and 30,000 semi-private. Additionally, six new air quality monitoring centres will be set up to improve pollution tracking and enforcement. The routes of public buses will also be reevaluated to address loopholes in the system. Presently, 6.8 lakh vehicles are purchased in Delhi annually, of which only 78,000 (11%) are electric, predominantly scooters.
“ Furthermore, 500 new cameras will be installed at major traffic junctions under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. These cameras will help identify vehicles with expired registrations and track those emitting excessive pollution. They will also facilitate traffic congestion monitoring to reduce pollution caused by vehicular idling. The Delhi Government will also establish an Integrated Command and Control Center to oversee air quality, waste management, and sanitation,” she said.
Meanwhile Speaker Vijender Gupta said the CAG has rightly observed that vehicular emission was the major source of pollution with its origins in Delhi, and thus, potentially controllable by the GNCTD.
In simpler words this was a problem whose solution was entirely within the ambit of the then government. In spite of this, the government failed to control this. As suggested by the CAG, improvement in the urban transport system, changes in transportation mode through infrastructure investment, strengthening of enforcement system etc.., were some strategies that could have been used to reduce vehicular emission.
The Report has pointed out various shortcomings in the effort made by Government in controlling vehicular emission. Some of these are, the Government had no effective mechanism or even the basic data for Air Quality Monitoring System The Government took no steps to improve the Public Transport System and significant number of DTC buses remained off-road. It also did not take any initiative to introduce alternative modes of public transport system like Monorail, Light Rail Transit or Electronic Trolley Buses in spite of keeping budget provision.
There were serious irregularities in Pollution Under Control Certificates. There was no inspection of Pollution Checking Centres. In 2018-2019, 64% of the vehicles which were due for fitness checking did not turn up for Fitness Certificates and more than 90% of fitness tests were done on basis of visual inspection thereby rendering the testing irrelevant. In violation of Supreme Court orders BS-III and BS-IV vehicles were registered in April 2020.
Out of the 47.51 lakh ‘End of Life’ vehicles which were to be de-registered only 2.98 lakh vehicles were actually de-registered. Steps like Odd Even, restriction of trucks, introduction of EVs etc were not implemented properly. It appears that, contrary to wild claims made in advertisements and media, the Government had not taken any effective steps to save the people of Delhi from vehicular pollution causing severe hardships including life threatening illnesses, the Speaker said.
The Public Accounts Committee should examine this Report thoroughly and identify the persons who failed to perform their duties. As per the contents of the Report there seems to have been serious lapses on the part of the Government. The PAC shall submit its report within three months and the Departments are directed to submit their ATNs within a month.
