Delhi borders to check PUC from Nov 1 under revised GRAP

From Sunday, November 1, the Delhi Traffic Police will enforce vehicle-entry restrictions under the revised Graded Response Action Plan. All vehicles, including BS-VI compliant ones, must carry a valid Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificate, the Delhi Police said. Non-compliance can attract a fine of up to Rs 10,000, up to three months in jail, or both. Border checks will use automatic number plate recognition and RFID. The restrictions will run until at least January 31, 2027, unless exemptions are notified.

The revised GRAP rules shift from reacting to measured air quality to acting on forecasts. Stage I restrictions, including dust-mitigation and enforcement of existing pollution rules, have been in place since October 21 after Delhi's AQI jumped from 179 ('Moderate') on October 20 to 244 ('Poor') on October 21. CAQM has moved certain restrictions on older interstate buses from Stage II to Stage I, allowing earlier enforcement. Stage III curbs on BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel light vehicles have been extended to Sonipat in Haryana.

Hindustan Times reports that the PUC test checks only carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons in petrol vehicles while the engine idles, and smoke opacity in diesel ones. A 2018 study by TERI and ARAI found that vehicles emit 81% of the nitrogen oxides produced within Delhi, gases the idle test cannot detect. That finding does not appear in the Indian Express report.