In three hours, only one car failed pollution test out of 18 cars and 29 two-wheelers.
After the strict implementation of new traffic rules, there was sudden rush at the PUC centers all across Delhi. People did not want to take risk with heavy penalties. However, I thought whether the PUC checks are effective in our city or not.
My curiosity to know about its effectiveness took me to a nearby PUC center. I stood for three hours at a PUC center in Dwarka to see how effectively they issue PUC certificates.
In three hours, only one car failed pollution test out of 18 cars and 29 two-wheelers. It made me wonder whether the process to check emissions was robust or not.
I found that testing equipment were not calibrated by any certified lab.
Delhi has almost 1,000 PUC centers. The city has 1.16 crore registered vehicles and out of of which, 60 per cent need to get PUC done every 3 months and 40 per cent yearly or twice in a year.
You do the calculation. It is very tough to complete all the checks. There must be a backlog. I think it is not fair to heavily penalise people when there is not proper infrastructure in place.
PUC centers never fulfilled the purpose as no one checked the quality of fuel for adulteration, nor improved the road condition. In all these years, I have got my car checked constantly and never once, the reading came even close to critical.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article above are his own and CitySpidey does not endorse them in anyway.
