An official said nearly 14 lakh SMSes have been sent to vehicle owners.
In order to reduce vehicular pollution in Delhi, the state government has started sending notices to vehicle owners without valid Pollution Under Control certificates asking them to get one or face penalty, officials said on Monday.
Presently, over 17 lakh vehicles, including 13 lakh two-wheelers and three lakh cars, are on the road without valid PUC, they said.
"We have sent SMSes to nearly 14 lakh vehicle owners asking them to get a valid PUC telling them that if they do not get it done in time, they will have to face heavy penalties. The pollution season is approaching within two-three months and we have to ensure that we reduce vehicular pollution to some extent. Warning people to get a valid PUC is a step in that direction," said an official.
The official added that there is a legal provision for exempting those vehicles that are not on the roads.
"For instance, a retired Army colonel has written to the Transport Department saying that his son is abroad and his vehicle is standing in their garage. So of course, the vehicles that are not plying on the roads are not required to get PUC, but vehicles found plying on the roads without a valid PUC will be prosecuted," he added.
If caught without a valid PUC certificate, vehicle owners may face imprisonment of up to six months or a fine of up to Rs 10,000 or both as per the Motor Vehicle Act.
According to Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, every motor vehicle (including those conforming to BS-I/ BS-II/ BS-III/BS-IV along with those operating on CNG/LPG) is required to carry a valid PUC certificate after the expiry of the period of one year from the date of its first registration.
However, the validity of four-wheeled BS-IV compliant vehicles is one year and for other vehicles, it is three months.
PUC certification has been made real-time and integrated with the vehicle registration database.
This has improved the credibility of PUC certification by reducing human intervention and helps in identifying polluting vehicles for necessary punitive action, officials said.
Last year, due to strict enforcement of PUC norms by the Transport department, over 60 lakh certificates were issued, officials said.
Vehicles are periodically tested for their emission standards for various pollutants such as carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO2) after which they are given PUC certificates.
There are over 900 pollution checking centres authorised by the transport department in Delhi. These are set up at petrol pumps and workshops spread all over the city so motorists can get it done easily.
The fee for pollution checking in case of petrol and CNG-driven two and three-wheelers is Rs 60. It is Rs 80 for four-wheeled vehicles and Rs 100 for diesel vehicles.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)