In what is sure to be good news for the environment, the honourable Supreme Court of India has issued a directive prohibiting insurance renewal without a valid Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificate. This order is applicable for all types of automobiles, throughout the nation.
The Supreme Court has taken into consideration, the recommendations put forth by Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA), which was pushing for mandatory linking of the PUC certificate at the time of annual vehicle insurance renewal. The bench headed by Justice Madan B. Lokur, also asked the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to see that all fuel refilling stations in the National Capital Region (NCR), Delhi, have functional PUC centres.
Delhi is particularly notorious in this regard, wherein only 23% of vehicles are sent for PUC tests. This step of linking vehicle insurance with PUC certificate is expected to have a strong, positive impact in the levels of compliance. Additionally, to enhance the effectiveness of the PUC network, the bench has also stated that all PUC centres should be linked online to a data centre to prevent manual tampering.
India has a dubious distinction of having some of the worst cities in the world with regard to air pollution. This court order is expected to help in lowering level of pollution that is at hazardous levels in many cities of India.
Source: Times of India
Also Read:
Health Insurers to Share Data on Fraudulent Claims
Insurance Penetration in India Lower Than the World