In a bid to combat the persistent air pollution crisis plaguing the national capital, the Delhi government has announced a stringent measure: vehicles without a valid Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificate will be denied fuel at petrol pumps across the city. This rule is set to take effect from Thursday, December 18, 2025.
The announcement was made on Tuesday, December 16, 2025, by Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa, who emphasized that vehicle owners have been given a one-day window to comply with the PUC rule. "After tomorrow, vehicles that do not have a valid PUC certificate will not be provided fuel," Sirsa stated. The government aims to enforce the rule through camera-based systems at petrol pumps.
A PUC certificate verifies that a vehicle's emissions are within the prescribed pollution limits and are not harmful to the environment. This measure is intended to encourage vehicle owners to maintain their vehicles properly and ensure compliance with emission norms, thus contributing to improved air quality in Delhi.
The decision comes as Delhi's air quality has fluctuated between "very poor" and "severe" categories in recent days. On Tuesday, the average Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded at 349, which falls in the "very poor" category, a marginal improvement from Monday's "severe plus" level. The deterioration in air quality has been attributed to adverse weather conditions, including low wind speeds.
In addition to the PUC certificate rule, the Delhi government has also barred the entry of non-Delhi vehicles that do not meet BS-VI emission standards. BS-VI (Bharat Stage VI) are emission standards implemented by the Indian government to regulate the output of air pollutants from motor vehicles. These standards are based on European emission norms. Only BS-VI compliant vehicles from outside the city will be allowed entry. Trucks and commercial vehicles registered outside Delhi are prohibited from entering the city, with exceptions for those involved in essential services.
These measures are being implemented as part of Stage 4 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), which is activated when the AQI breaches the 450 mark. GRAP is a set of incremental anti-pollution measures designed to prevent further deterioration of air quality in Delhi and its surrounding National Capital Region (NCR). Stage 4 restrictions also include a ban on construction activities.
Environment Minister Sirsa acknowledged the severity of the pollution crisis but stated that Delhi's air quality has remained better for nearly eight months this year compared to the same period last year. He also targeted the previous AAP government, asserting that the current administration "inherited this pollution disease" and is working to fix it.
Sirsa highlighted several initiatives undertaken by the government to combat pollution, including reducing the height of landfill sites, bringing industries under stricter pollution control norms, distributing heaters to reduce emissions from wood burning, and regulating the use of DJs in banquet halls. The Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) has installed over 2,000 pollution-monitoring plants.
The government is also pushing for cleaner public transport, with plans to deploy 7,500 electric buses in the city. Furthermore, the government has identified 13 pollution hotspots in Delhi and is working with concerned agencies to address them.
While these measures are intended to provide immediate relief, environmentalists caution that short-term actions are insufficient to tackle the deep-rooted causes of pollution. Long-term exposure to polluted air in India has been linked to millions of deaths annually.
