Around 10 to 12 in the capital city the vehicle pollution checking points are said to be operating at will and through equipments that are rarely verified for the correctness of measurements that they record. Pollution checking is incidentally an outsourced activity with minimum monitoring of the entity the job is outsourced to.
A pollution checking centre situated in the heart of the capital generates about 1200 to 1500 certificates in a month. The certificate bears a seal of the Transport department without signature of the any Transport department official.
“Our centre is regularly monitored by Transport department officials. This is one of the oldest centres and we use the machine that is approved by the department itself,” said RK Agarwal, owner of an authorised fitness testing centre.
The handful driven by fear of being fined for violation of emission norms rush to a pollution centre to ascertain the level of emission however they are clueless and least bothered about the veracity of the computerised reported generated at a centre.
Pollution level is ascertained by inserting a metal pipe inside a vehicle’s exhaust pipe which traps the level of a particular gas in a computer before generating the corresponding fitness report.
“The report is generated by computer so it must be correct. Moreover, this is generated by an authorized agency,” said Anil Kumar Thakur, vehicle owner.
Even as some centres are operating, others disappoint people due to closed operation for mortal reasons. The pain of getting cold response at few centres irks people but at the same time it is brute realisation of inability to do anything. Moreover, the inability on the part of centre operator in deputing another person replacing the missing employee is baffling considering the seriousness of the matter.
“The staff is on medical leave. Unless he comes back we cannot conduct fitness check on a vehicle,” said an employee at a centre in Ratu Road.
Ironically, vehicles leaving the city especially commercial vehicles look little interested in obtaining a fitness certificate. The fitness checking centre at Booty, more often than not wears a lacklustre look due to very few vehicles approaching for obtaining a certificate. The square is also a popular stoppage for commercial vehicles but rarely any vehicle approaches the centre to verify compliance with the
emission norms.
“Manufacturers adhere to strict emission norms so very few personal vehicles fail test. Even some companies roll out their vehicle with a sticker of non-polluting vehicle pasted on it. But a commercial vehicle has no reason to not apply for a fitness certificate but we cannot pull them to our centre. It is upto them to approach us,” said an employee of the fitness centre.
Fitness checking of vehicles also suffered due to Jharkhand State Pollution Control Board (JSPCB) run testing centres becoming extinct. The regulatory body used to maintain about four pollution checking centres in Ranchi, however, it doesn’t looks interested in reviving defunct centres. The board did not purchase fresh equipment leading to the cessation of pollution checking activities.
“This is basically the Transport department’s job. We want to open the existing centre but it is too low on priority as of now,” said Member Secretary JSPCB Mahendra Mahto.