Haryana NCR petrol pumps ordered to deny fuel to vehicles without valid PUC

Petrol pumps in Haryana’s National Capital Region (NCR) districts have been ordered to refuse fuel to any vehicle without a valid Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificate.

The "no PUC, no fuel" rule applies to petrol, diesel, and CNG stations as part of the government’s latest campaign to curb air pollution. Under the strict new orders, pump operators must deny service to non-compliant vehicles, record their registration numbers, and direct them to the nearest testing centre.

How the checks will work

The directive was issued by Atul Kumar, Haryana’s transport commissioner and secretary, to the state coordinators of Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum, and Hindustan Petroleum. The order implements direction number 101 from the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), the body responsible for coordinating clean air strategies across the capital region.

While the Haryana government is in the process of installing Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras at fuel stations to automatically cross-reference registration numbers with the national online PUC database, pump workers must verify certificates manually in the interim.

Motorists caught driving without a valid certificate face heavy penalties, with fines of up to ₹10,000 under the Motor Vehicle Rules.

Tightening GRAP pollution rules

The fuel station clampdown coincides with a broader tightening of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) across Delhi-NCR. Under the newly revised GRAP framework, which triggers escalating restrictions based on the air quality index (AQI), pollution controls have become significantly stricter.

For example, under Stage III of the plan—triggered when the AQI reaches "severe" levels between 401 and 450—restrictions on older BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel light motor vehicles have been expanded. These restrictions now apply in Sonipat, alongside the existing high-density districts of Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, and Gautam Buddha Nagar.

Other newly introduced rules under the revised GRAP framework target regional transport. Inter-city and inter-state buses from Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and other nearby states are now banned from entering Delhi-NCR unless they are electric, CNG, or meet BS-VI diesel standards.

Petrol pumps across the affected Haryana districts have been instructed to set up prominent bilingual warning signs in Hindi and English at all fuel dispensers. Operators have been told to implement the verification measures immediately and submit an action-taken report within three days. State officials warned that any laxity in enforcing the rules would lead to strict punitive action.