Around 600 PUC centres shut in Delhi amid protest by petrol dealers over fee hike

New Delhi: Around 600 PUC centres across 400 petrol pumps in the national capital will remain closed from Monday in response to a protest call by petrol dealers and pump owners.

The closure call of Pollution Under Control Centres (PUCC) by the Delhi Petrol Dealers' Association (DPDA) comes following the Delhi government's proposed hike in pollution certificate charges.

DPDA president Nischal Singhania told PTI that the association has decided to go ahead with the strike as the running of PUCC centres have become unviable.

"There are 400 petrol pumps in Delhi and all of them have petrol PUCC centres. Some of them also have diesel PUCC centres, which takes the count to around 600 PUC centres," he added.

The Kejriwal government on Thursday increased the PUC certificate charges for petrol, CNG and diesel vehicles after a gap of about 13 years. The hike ranges between Rs 20 and Rs 40.

The new rates will be effective as soon as it is notified by the Delhi government, Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot had said.