Anti-pollution violations: Over 100,000 challans issued in Delhi in 2 mnths

As part of its crackdown on those violating anti-pollution norms, the Delhi Traffic Police issued 108,004 challans in the last two months for related offences as the city continues to battle high air pollution levels, officials said on Sunday.

The crackdown was undertaken to execute the Delhi government's Winter Action Plan against rising air pollution.

According to the data shared by the Delhi Traffic Police, 32,343 of the total challans in the last two months from October 1 to November 30 were issued to owners of vehicles found without valid pollution under control (PUC) certificates. A total of 1,866 challans were issued and 1,104 old vehicles impounded for those found running beyond the permitted 10 years (for diesel vehicles) and 15 years (for petrol-run vehicles).

Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) AK Singh said strict action will be taken against those not having PUCC and also those still plying old age petrol and diesel vehicles beyond the specified number of years.

"In the last two months alone, we have checked 44,853 goods vehicles at all the border entry points while another 13,031 vehicles carrying non-essential good items were not allowed inside Delhi. Such vehicles were diverted to other routes from the border points," he said.

The data showed that 88 challans were issued to violators carrying construction and other allied material without proper covering. For improper parking, 61,153 challans, 1,39,113 notices were issued while 14,848 vehicles were towed by crane.

According to the data, 368 violators were challaned for not plying in proper lane, 4,774 were challaned for driving against the flow of traffic and 7,412 challans were issued for no entry violation. All these violations also contribute to air pollution, the Delhi Police said.

In October, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, in a meeting, had announced emergency measures to deal with the pollution crisis facing the city. Accordingly, the Delhi Traffic Police intensified its crackdown against pollution violators and those still plying old vehicles with deployment of teams at 170 locations across the city, officials had said.

According to traffic police, most of these spots are located near petrol pumps, where the vehicles can be checked easily for such violations and at the same time drivers advised to get the certificates immediately.

The traffic police have also deployed teams at 13 pollution hotspots to keep a tab on the level of pollution in those areas and relay the information further to the senior officials for necessary action.

On Sunday, Delhi recorded an air quality index (AQI) of 305, which falls in the 'very poor' category, according to the real-time data of the Central Pollution Control Board.