CAG report reveals serious flaws in Delhi's vehicular pollution

Delhi's vehicular air pollution has been highlighted by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in its recent report as having some serious faults. According to the report, which was tabled in the Delhi Assembly recently, the vehicles in the capital are being issued Pollution Control Certificates irregularly, pollution rules are not adhered to strictly, and government departments lack coordination on a drastic level. All these have contributed to the deterioration in the air quality of the national capital.

The CAG performance audit report further showed that no real-time study had been undertaken to gauge vehicular pollution. Other than this, the Delhi government lacks any credible information on the total number of vehicles plying in the city, their make and model, and the emissions they produce.

The report also highlighted the flaws in removing old and inactive vehicles. Delhi had to deregister 47.51 lakh vehicles which had completed their life (end-of-life) between 2018-19 and 2020-21. But, only 2.98 lakh vehicles i.e. only 6.27 percent of the vehicles were removed from the roads. The failure to destroy more than 94 percent of old vehicles further increased the pollution level in Delhi.

The report also said that more than 1.08 lakh vehicles were issued PUC certificates. While they were spreading more pollution than the prescribed standards of carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbons (HC). A major flaw in this process was also seen in that many vehicles were given PUC certificates in a few seconds.

The report also revealed that between 2015 and 2020, about 4,000 diesel vehicles did not meet the pollution standards. However, due to a weak certification process, they continued to operate legally. CAG has considered this problem serious and recommended strict enforcement of monitoring and laws.

The audit report also found that only 12 percent of vehicle fitness tests were conducted at automated fitness centers. More than 90 percent of the tests took place at Burari Center in Delhi, which were mostly based on visual inspection only.

As of March 2021, 347 vehicles were seized for violating pollution standards, but they were not scrapped because adequate scrapping facilities were not available. The existing vehicle seizure centers can hold only 4,000 vehicles, while more than 41 lakh vehicles are in the queue for scrapping.

At the end of the report, CAG also said that there is a huge shortage of staff and PUC testing equipment to check pollution on the spot.