PUC centres in Delhi remain shut for second day amid strike by petrol dealers over fee hike

On July 11, the Delhi government increased the pollution under control (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.

New Delhi: PUCC centres at petrol pumps in Delhi remained shut for the second consecutive day on Tuesday as part of a strike by petrol dealers to express dissatisfaction over the proposed hike in the pollution certificate charges.

Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot said 300 pollution under control certificate (PUCC) centres located at places other than petrol pumps were open and people could visit them.

The call for the indefinite strike was given by the Delhi Petrol Dealers' Association (DPDA) to express dissatisfaction with the proposed hike in PUCC charges for vehicles.

On July 11, the Delhi government increased the PUCC 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 the Delhi government notifies them, Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot had said earlier.

In a statement issued on Sunday, the DPDA said the PUCC rates were last revised in 2011 after a gap of six years and the percentage increase was more than 70.

"The rate hike announced by the Delhi government now after 13 years is merely 35 per cent, whereas all our expenses in the operation of a PUCC centre have increased multiple times, with just the wages having increased three times from 2011 to 2024," the statement said.

A Transport Department official said the hike had been proposed keeping in mind the customers and petrol dealers.

In a post on X in Hindi, Gahlot said on Tuesday that a list of 300 Delhi-government authorised PUCC centres located at places other than petrol pumps has been uploaded on the Transport Department website.

"Yesterday, 1,375 vehicles were checked at these pollution checking centres and today, till now, 1,464 vehicles have been checked. The list of all these pollution checking centres is available on the official website of the Transport Department, Delhi Government. Drivers can get their vehicles pollution checked at these places," he said.

According to officials, there are around 950 PUCC centres in Delhi, including around 600 at petrol pumps.