Transport department to crack down on PUC centres, ensure vehicles are checked

MUMBAI: After drafting a comprehensive action plan to rid transport offices of agents, transport commissioner Mahesh Zagade has now targeted mobile and stationary PUC centres. Zagade was recently in for a shock when he was issued a pollution-under-control certificate at a petrol pump for his personal car, without the vehicle being actually inspected. In the wake of this experience, random checks were conducted across the city, which revealed that in several centres, PUC certificates were simply issued on paying money.

“We did find that PUC certificates were issued without checking vehicles,” a senior official from the transport department said. “We are set to end the rule of RTO agents across the state and now, we will ensure each and every vehicle will be checked for PUC certificates,” he said.

The official said the transport commissioner has asked all regional and assistant regional transport officers to visit all 1,672 PUC centres in the state. “Transport officials will have to check vehicles as well as PUC centres and ensure that certificates are issued only after actually checking the vehicle,’’ he said.

The official motor vehicle inspectors are expected to verify the certificate issued by a PUC centre and recheck the vehicle to ensure that the certificate issued is genuine. “If certificates are issued simply on paying money and without actually checking the vehicle, it will be a blatant violation of the norms prescribed by the Bombay High Court,’’ he said. The HC had on December 15, 1999, set stringent guidelines to check vehicular pollution. “We have asked transport officials to suspend or cancel licences of PUC centres which issue certificates without actually checking vehicles,” the official said.