The Delhi government has increased the pollution under control (PUC) certificate charges for petrol, CNG and diesel vehicles after a gap of about 13 years, Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot said on Thursday. The hike ranges between Rs 20 and Rs 40.
Delhi Petrol Dealers' Association president Nischal Singhania claimed the hike was "unviable" to meet operation costs. The organisation will hold a meeting of its managing committee on Friday and about 500 PUC certificate issuing centres will be shut from July 15, he added.
The charges for petrol, CNG or LPG, including bio fuel, two and three wheelers has been increased from Rs 60 to Rs 80 and for four wheelers from Rs 80 to Rs 110, Gahlot said in a statement. He added that the charges of PUC certificates for diesel vehicles has been revised from Rs 100 to Rs 140.
The new rates will be effective as soon as it is notified by the Delhi government, the minister said.
Singhania said, "The Rs 20 and Rs 30 hike is nothing. The operational costs have gone up and it seems that the government is not serious about the issue. We had demanded that inflation be kept in mind while increasing the charges."
"The hike is unviable. Earlier, the frequency of renewing PUC certificates was four months, which meant that a customer would spend Rs 240 annually but now they have to get it renewed once a year which means that they only have to pay Rs 60," he said.
In his statement, Gahlot said the demand to increase the charges was a long-pending of the association to keep up with the rising costs of pollution checking services.
"Considering the request from the Delhi Petrol Dealers Association and the fact that pollution checking rates have not been revised since 2011, the Delhi government has announced increasing the rates for pollution checking of vehicles in Delhi," he said.
The association was advocating for an increase in pollution checking fees. Its representatives had last month met Gahlot with the demand to revise the rates.
The minister said this revision was also necessary to ensure that pollution checking stations can continue to operate efficiently and provide quality services to the public.
The Delhi government is committed to maintaining the city's air quality and ensuring that all vehicles meet the required pollution standards, he said.
