Buses without PUCs will not be allowed in Delhi’s bus terminals
NEW DELHI: The Delhi government has decided to crackdown on ‘visibly polluting buses’ and those without pollution under control (PUC) certificates.
Authorities have decided to bar buses that create visibly create pollution or those without PUC certificates from entering Delhi’s inter-satte bus terminals from October 1.
The Delhi Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation (DTIDC) Limited said the crackdown had been necessitated to control air pollution which sees a spike during winters.
“Any bus not having a PUC certificate will not be allowed to take passengers from the ISBTs and will be challaned. Buses that have pollution under control certificates, but are visibly polluting will also be treated the same way,” said KK Dahiya, managing director of DTIDC.
Out of over 5,400 buses that daily ply from Delhi’s three ISBTs in Anand Vihar, Kashmere Gate and Sarai Kale Khan, nearly 3,400 are buses that come from outside the city.
Officials say local buses are mostly CNG-run, but it is the diesel run buses coming from neighbouring states like Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana that are most polluting.
The Delhi government is also going to write to these states urging them to conduct a drive in two week’s time to check PUCs of buses entering Delhi and also phase out old ones as they emitted more smoke.
While the move already should have been a usual practice seeing Delhi’s failing air quality, Dahiya explained enforcement was going to be a problem due to the staff crunch. Till now, the task of checking PUCs was being done only by traffic police and enforcement teams of the transport department, which was not enough, Dahiya said.
“Therefore, additional teams of DTIDC officials will be deployed specifically at ISBTs. The PUCs and the health of the buses would be checked at the entrance of the terminal at the time of collection of the parking fee,” he said.
Out of the three ISBTs, the one at Anand Vihar, which is on the Uttar Pradesh side of Delhi’s border, is the most crowded terminal witnessing a daily footfall of 1.25 lakh passengers.