No valid PUC, no fuel from Thursday: Delhi tightens pollution curbs as air quality worsens

Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa addressing a press conference in Delhi on Tuesday.

As national capital continues to battle hazardous air quality, Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa announced on Tuesday that vehicle owners lacking a valid Pollution Under Control Certificate (PUCC) will not be allowed to purchase fuel at petrol pumps starting Thursday, December 18.

The move follows the Air Quality Index (AQI) staying in the “severe” category for three straight days before improving slightly to “very poor” on Tuesday, Hindustan Times reported.

Enforcement data cited by PTI show that in September, 54,615 challans — about 17% of all violations booked by ground-level police personnel — were issued for driving without a valid PUCC.

Addressing a press conference, the minister said the pollution crisis could not be reversed within months and held the previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government responsible for the situation.

According to news agency ANI, he said, “It is impossible for any elected government to reduce AQI in 9-10 months. I apologise for the pollution in Delhi. We are doing better work than the dishonest AAP government, and we have reduced AQI each day. This disease of pollution is given to us by the Aam Aadmi Party, and we are working to fix it.”