Petrol pumps in Haryana’s National Capital Region (NCR) districts will be required to verify pollution under control (PUC) certificates before refuelling of vehicles from October 1. Vehicles without a valid PUC certificate will be denied fuel under the Centre’s air pollution control measures.
Issued to the state co-ordinator of Indian Oil Corporation Limited, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum, petrol stations will use automated number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras to match vehicle registration numbers with the online PUC database, according to the directions. “However, until ANPR systems are fully installed and become operational across all NCR districts, petrol pump operators have been instructed to ensure that their staff should manually verify the PUC of vehicles before refueling,” the order mentioned.
“The petrol pumps have been directed to implement the measures immediately and submit an action-taken report within three days. The order stated that driving or operating a vehicle without a valid PUC can attract a fine of up to ₹ 10,000 under the Motor Vehicle Rules. Vehicles found without a valid certificate are to be directed to the nearest authorised PUC testing centre so that they can obtain the required certification before refueling, it said.
State officials said the government was in the process of installing ANPR cameras in NCR petrol pumps. The transport department order said that if a vehicle owner is unable to produce a valid PUC certificate, then the petrol pump must refuse fuel and record the vehicle’s registration number for official purposes. Any laxity in implementing the directions could lead to strict punitive action,” the order said.
