CSE hails SC order on no insurance without pollution certificate

SC issued that insurance cos will not renew insurance of vehicles without pollution certificate

Hailing the Supreme Court's order that vehicle insurance should be renewed unless the owner provides pollution under control (PUC) certificate, a green body said "it is an important step forward".

"In Delhi, only 23 per cent of vehicles come for the PUC checks. With mandatory linking of annual vehicle insurance with valid PUC certificate, the compliance level can improve significantly--especially as the Supreme Court has directed its enforcement nation-wide," DG of Centre for Science and Environment Sunita Narain said.

In a bid to curb pollution, the Supreme Court today issued a slew of directions including that insurance companies will not renew insurance of a vehicle unless the owner provides pollution under control (PUC) certificate.

A bench headed by Justice Madan B Lokur also asked the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to ensure that all fuel refilling centres in the National Capital Region (NCR) have PUC centres.

The CSE said that this recommendation was made by the EPCA in its Report No 73 (on assessment of Pollution Under Control (PUC) Programme in Delhi and NCR), which submitted in the court in April this year.

"The PUC system is critical to keep emissions of on-road vehicles under check. Overall improvement in compliance will lead to lesser emissions on road," said Anumita Roychowdhury, CSE's executive director-research and advocacy.