No petrol, diesel in Delhi without PUC from Oct 25: Gopal Rai

In a bid to curb vehicular pollution, the AAP government has decided that petrol and diesel will not be provided without PUC (pollution under control) certificate at petrol pumps in the national capital from October 25, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said on Saturday.

He said that a notification in this regard will also be issued soon.

A meeting of officials from environment, transport and traffic departments was convened on September 29 to discuss the implementation and modalities where it was decided to go ahead with the plan from October 25, the minister said.

"Vehicular emission is one of the key contributors to rising pollution in Delhi. It is imperative to reduce it so it has been decided that from October 25 petrol, diesel will not be provided at petrol pumps without PUC certificate of the vehicle," Rai said in a press conference here.

He also said that the Delhi government will launch its 24X7 war room on October 3 to combat pollution and ensure effective and serious implementation of amended Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).

The minister said that anti-dust campaign will also be launched in Delhi from October 6, where sudden inspections will be conducted at construction sites to check the dust pollution.