Petrol pumps in Delhi soon to check vehicle licence plates. Here is why

Vehicles without a valid Pollution Under Control Certificate (PUCC) in Delhi will soon have to face law even at petrol pumps. The Delhi government is planning to implement a new initiative that will help track down such vehicles with the help of cameras installed at fuel stations. These cameras will be able to scan the vehicle registration plates and alert if it has a valid PUCC or not. In case of invalid PUCC, e-challan will be issued to the vehicle owner.

Checking of PUCC validity has so far been carried out solely by Delhi Traffic Police constables deployed across the city. However, the Delhi government plans to make the checking process tighter by implementing digital method. The Delhi Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation (DTIDC) has initiated the plan by inviting tender for potential bidders. The cost of the project is estimated to be around ₹6 crore.

The company responsible to carry out this plan will be asked to integrate its system with the government's official portal to issued challan to vehicles without valid PUCC. While the cameras installed at pumps will help identify such vehicles upon entry, the system will send details to echallan.parivahan.gov.in portal to issue challan to the vehicle. However, such vehicles will be alerted first by attendants at the petrol pump and ask to get the PUCC renewed before issuing challan. The vehicle owner will also be informed about the status of PUCC on a display installed at the petrol pump. "The system will again check PUCC status after three hours and in case of expiry of PUCC, the system will generate a challan," an official with DTIDC said.

In case a petrol pump does not have any cameras installed, the company that wins the tender will bear the responsibility to do that. It will also have to upgrade existing cameras if necessary. It will also be responsible to position the cameras in a manner so that all vehicles entering the petrol pump can be scanned properly. "The tender may be extended up to 500 petrol pumps, based on availability of funds. The digital solution shall be installed into the existing CCTV cameras already installed at 100 petrol pumps," the official added.

The decision to put the new plan into action comes after the state's transport department revealed that around 22 lakh vehicles in Delhi were found plying without a valid PUCC. 19 lakh out of these vehicles were identified as two-wheelers.

The move also comes amid reports that Delhi is one of the most polluted cities in the world. It also tops among all cities in India. The World Air Quality Report 2023 by Swiss organisation IQAir said that Delhi's PM2.5 levels have gone up to 92.7 micrograms per cubic metre last year from 89.1 micrograms per cubic metre in 2022. This is the fourth consecutive time Delhi has emerged as the world’s most polluted capital city. 10 out of 11 most polluted cities in the world are in India. Vehicular pollution is one of the biggest factors behind worsening air quality in Delhi and surrounding cities.