NOW, POLLUTION CHECK MUST FOR GETTING YOUR CAR INSURANCE

NEWDELHI: Vehicle owners in Delhi-NCR will have to mandatorily furnish a valid pollution-undercontrol (PuC) certificate to renew their annual insurance papers, the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday.

A bench of justices MB Lokur and Deepak Gupta pronounced this order while hearing a case pertaining to rising air-pollution levels in the national capital.

Though this was one of the suggestions given by the courtappointed Environment Pollution [Prevention and Control] Authority (EPCA), the Centre opposed it. The Union ministry of transport had submitted that the two requirements cannot be merged because while insurance renewal is an annual feature, PuC checks are required to be carried out at short intervals.

Countering the argument, advocate Aparajita Singh, who is assisting the court on the EPCA’s behalf, said periodicity of the PuC and insurance papers should not be an obstacle. She said the vehicle owner should either present their last four or two PuC certificates while applying for renewal.

In a directive aimed at enhancing the efficiency of PuC centres, the Supreme Court directed the government to monitor them on a regular basis. It also asked the authorities to issue specifications for the kind of equipment required to be installed at PuC centres.