'Over 90% Challans Issued In 2023 For Pollution Norms Violations Pending': Delhi Govt Tells Court

The Delhi government wrote to the Tis Hazari Court that payment of dues of over 90% of PUCC challans issued last year is still pending.

Delhi cops issue a challan to a traffic rule offender.

Source : PTI

The Delhi government has written to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Tis Hazari Court, to inform about the pending challans that were imposed last year and are yet to be cleared. The government said that out of the challans pressed in 2023 on citizens for not having a valid Pollution Under Control (PUC), 90 per cent of them are still unsettled, which has impacted the enforcement exercise, reported news agency PTI.

The Transport Department stated in a letter said that around 75 per cent of the challans that were issued during the period when the Graded Response Action Plan restrictions were in force remain unpaid till now, added PTI.

The letter read, "It is brought to your attention that the challan pendency status is becoming another challenge in the realm of enforcement on vehicles, read the communication."

It also stated that the issue needed to be brought to the attention of the higher judiciary to create a system of clearance of all the pollution-related challans without any reduction in penalty.

The document also cited data showing that 36,225 PUCC challans were issued in 2023, of which 91 per cent of the 36,000 challans are still pending. An individual is fined Rs 10,000 for not possessing a valid PUCC.

According to PTI, the transport department issued 1,095 challans to plying BC IV diesel vehicles and BS III petrol vehicles between the period of October 1, 2022, to March 1, 2023, for violation of GRAP restrictions. The data provided by the official indicated that 75 percent of these are pending.

GRAP was brought in as a part of Delhi's Stage IV pollution control plan to control the city's severe plus air quality condition. GRAP categorized the air quality into four different stages: Poor (AQI 201-300), Very Poor (AQI 301-400), Severe (AQI 401-450), and Severe Plus (AQI>450).

All kinds of construction work and polluting trucks' entry are also banned when GRAP Stage IV is invoked in Delhi.