Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik on Monday, May 5, announced plans to implement a policy that would prohibit the sale of fuel to vehicles without a valid Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificate.
This development comes to curb rising air pollution in the Mumbai and other cities in the state.
Additionally, the proposed measure aims to crack down on technically defective and high-emission vehicles, which authorities have identified as major contributors to deteriorating air quality across the state.
The announcement was made during a review meeting held at Mantralaya with senior officials from the Motor Transport Department, including Joint Secretary Kiran Holkar and Transport Commissioner Vivek Bhimanwar.
As per reports, the government is planning to introduce a QR code-based PUC certification system to curb this malpractice. Fuel stations will be mandated to check the validity of the certificate through QR scanning before dispensing fuel. “No PUC, no fuel — this will be the rule,” Sarnaik asserted.
Sarnaik said that with the number of vehicles increasing every day, air pollution is worsening, especially from those running on conventional fuels. “While PUC certificates are mandatory, we’ve received complaints about fake and fraudulently issued certificates, which allow polluting vehicles to remain on the road.”
He also emphasized the urgency of the move considering the cautioning Air Quality Index (AQI) readings in several urban areas.
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