Delhi makes PUCC, BS6 compliance permanent to tackle air pollution

Delhi has made the ‘no fuel without Pollution Under Control Certificate (PUCC)’ rule permanent as part of tougher measures to curb rising air pollution in the national capital. Announcing the decision on Saturday, Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said two restrictions under Stage IV of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) would now remain in force until further orders. “From now on, it has been decided that out of the restrictions under GRAP-4, we have made two restrictions permanent. The first one is PUCC. You will not get petrol anywhere without a PUCC certificate until next orders,” Sirsa said. The second GRAP-4 rule to be enforced indefinitely until further orders is the restriction of entry of vehicles entering Delhi from outside the city which do not meet the Bharat Stage VI (BS6) emission standards. “Vehicles from outside Delhi that are below Bharat Stage VI (BS6) will also face restrictions on entering Delhi,” he said.

GRAP-4 के 2 रिस्ट्रिक्शन्स को परमानेंट कर दिया गया है। एक कहीं पर भी बिना PUC सर्टिफिकेट के फ्यूल नहीं मिलेगा और यह अगले ऑर्डर तक जारी रहेगा।

दूसरा, अगर कभी GRAP-4 लगाने की स्थिति आती है, तो भारत स्टेज-6 से कम की दिल्ली से बाहर की गाड़ियों पर बैन रहेगा।

साथ ही, अभी तक 27 ऐसे… pic.twitter.com/lFQegTm5JA

— Manjinder Singh Sirsa (@mssirsa) December 27, 2025

Bharat Stage VI (BS6) is India’s latest and most stringent emission standard. Vehicles compliant with BS6 norms release significantly lower levels of harmful pollutants, including nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter (PM), which are major contributors to smog and respiratory health problems.

At least 20 air quality monitoring stations across the capital recorded AQI levels above 400, falling in the ‘severe’ category. Areas such as Shadipur, Vivek Vihar, Ashok Nagar, Bawana, Chandni Chowk, DTU, Dwarka, ITO and Mundka were among the worst affected.The air quality is likely to remain in the ‘very poor’ category in the coming days, according to forecasts. The India Meteorological Department has predicted shallow to dense fog during morning and evening hours, which could further trap pollutants. The Delhi government has stepped up enforcement against polluting vehicles and irregular PUCC centres.