Vehicle owner’s phone number may soon be made mandatory for getting a PUC certificate

We are doing this to collect an authentic database of contact numbers of vehicle owners, which we do not have currently. As a result, even the traffic police is facing difficulty in issuing e-challans.

AN OFFICIAL, Delhi transport department

NEW DELHI: Soon, it will be mandatory to submit the operational contact number of the vehicle owner if a car or two-wheeler is to be checked at a pollution under control (PUC) centre. Not doing so could attract a fine of ₹500, transport officials said.

The Delhi transport department has issued a draft notification, suggesting the change in the rules and has sought comments from stakeholders on the matter.

“We are doing this to collect authentic database of contact numbers of vehicle owners which we do not have currently. As a result, even the traffic police is facing difficulty in issuing e-challans,” said a senior transport official.

Currently, all PUC centres just ask for the phone number of the driver on which a one-time password (OTP) is sent. The test is taken forward only once the OTP is presented at the counter and the payment is made.

Under the new rule, the Delhi government intends to make it mandatory to give the phone number of the person under whose name the vehicle is registered. When asked how officials at the PUC centre verify if the number is actually that of the vehicle owner, transport officials said the OTP will be generated in that person’s phone number only. “Besides, if necessary we will also check registration certificates of vehicles on the spot. Violating this rule will attract a fine of ₹500 as per the draft,” an official said.

The move will also help vehicle owners to be more updated about the status of their PUC, the government said. “Through this we will be able to send alerts to vehicle owners if their PUC is about to expire or has already expired. Alerts will also be sent about the success or failure of PUC tests,” the official said.

Under the amended Motor Vehicles Act, which came into effect from September 1, driving without a PUC certificate or with an expired PUC certificate invites a penalty of ₹10,000. Earlier, the same fine was ₹1,000.

Post the steep hike, the 941 PUC centers in Delhi had seen a sudden rush of vehicles turning up for tests.

The number of applicants had increased by a record 200% this month compared to the previous month.

Some PUC centres had queues of up to four hours and to decongest the centres, the Delhi government early this month had opened up the centres at its bus depots to the public and directed some centres to work extended hours.