In a swift enforcement drive across the National Capital Region, the Delhi authorities issued 9,325 challans to vehicles in a 24-hour period for violations of pollution norms, including invalid “Pollution Under Control” certificates (PUCs), entry of restricted vehicles and other breaches, according to the Delhi Environment Minister.
The crackdown was part of a broader push by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) and the traffic police as the city battles its annual winter smog cycle. Officials said 83 trucks were diverted at city entry-points and 128 inter-state buses were checked during this span.
Additionally, 2,348 metric tonnes of construction and demolition (C&D) waste were removed, 454 pollution complaints resolved and over 500 inspections carried out across key sites such as diesel-generator installations, hotels and restaurants.
The authorities emphasised that this enforcement phase is critical given that the city remains in the “poor” to “very poor” air-quality category, and vehicular emissions continue to be a major contributor. Experts said that sweeping measures like PUC checks, suspension of non-compliant heavy commercial vehicles and monitoring of C&D waste are necessary but only part of the challenge.
Delhi’s Road & Transport and Pollution Control Departments stated that over 1,200 enforcement teams are working day and night at vigil points, particularly at city borders, to monitor vehicle entries and check compliance under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) Phase II norms.
