Ah, the great Indian vehicle regulation system—where logic occasionally takes a backseat while bureaucracy enjoys a comfortable front-row seat. One of its finest creations? The annual Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificate for four-wheelers, a masterpiece of paperwork that serves as a shining beacon of… well, something.
Let’s break this down. Your beloved four-wheeler, after 10–15 years of loyal service, is destined for the scrapyard—not because you drove it into the ground, but because it is suddenly deemed an environmental villain. But before that tragic day arrives, you must diligently renew its no-pollution certificate every single year. Yes, you read that right. A vehicle that is inevitably going to be scrapped for polluting too much must first prove—annually, without fail—that it is not polluting too much. Genius, isn’t it?
The Flawless Logic of PUC
The PUC certificate is a simple test. You drive your car to a roadside center, where a technician waves a sensor near your exhaust, clicks a few buttons, and—voila!—your car is now officially “non-polluting” for the next 12 months. Whether it actually emits less pollution? Who knows! But congratulations, you’re now environmentally responsible—until next year, when you must repeat this ritual like a taxpayer offering annual sacrifices to the gods of bureaucracy.
But wait—there’s more! In some cities, diesel vehicles are banned after 10 years and petrol vehicles after 15 years because they are considered high polluters. Fair enough. But if we already accept that these vehicles will be too polluting to function after a set time, why do they need a yearly pollution check before that? It’s like checking the health of a patient every year, only to eventually declare that they were terminally ill all along.
A Money-Minting or Pollution-Controlling Scheme?
Now, one might argue, “PUC ensures that older vehicles don’t become a hazard before their time is up.” But if that were really the case, why not make the test stricter for older vehicles? Why not charge higher PUC fees after 10 years instead of putting every car through the same pointless routine?
Here’s an alternative idea: Instead of pretending that these yearly certificates are about pollution control, why not just scrap the PUC requirement for vehicles under 10 years and only impose heavy penalties for visibly polluting ones? After all, it’s not like the PUC test is catching the real culprits—those buses and trucks that belch out thick black smoke like a dragon waking up from a nap.
The Verdict? A Bureaucratic Masterpiece
India’s PUC system is a classic case of regulation for the sake of regulation. It keeps testing vehicles that will inevitably be scrapped for polluting, yet allows many actual polluters to roam free. If pollution control is really the goal, maybe it’s time for some common sense reforms:
- Raise PUC charges after 10 years instead of forcing everyone to renew annually.
- Abolish PUC requirements for newer vehicles and focus on actual emission offenders.
- Use technology to monitor high-pollution vehicles instead of relying on outdated, easily manipulated tests.
But hey, why bother with logical solutions when we can just keep filling out forms and paying for tests that accomplish little? If there’s one thing we’ve mastered as a nation, it’s the art of mandatory but meaningless paperwork—and the PUC system is just another feather in that glorious cap.