Vehicles In Delhi-NCR Exceed Pollutant Limit Set By PUCC: Study

The International Council On Clean Transportation (ICCT), in collaboration with Delhi and Gurugram authorities, has found in a study that ICE vehicles (including CNG vehicles) in the Capital emit pollutants far more than the level set by the Pollution Under Control Certificate (PUCC) in real-world driving conditions.

The test study was conducted between December 2022 and April 2023 in 20 sites around Delhi and Gurugram. Remote devices were installed at two road ends to capture tailpipe emissions. These devices collected data from 111,712 tailpipe emissions including all two-wheelers to three-wheelers, private cars, light-good vehicles and even buses – the study found that besides petrol and diesel vehicles, it was CNG vehicles which emitted the most number of pollutants. 

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For context, around 45 per cent of the vehicles tested were petrol, 32 per cent were CNG, and 23 per cent were diesel vehicles. CNG vehicles were found emitting high levels of Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) particles into the environment during real-world driving. Moreover, emissions from high-use commercial vehicles were much higher than those from private vehicles. For example, BS6 taxis and light goods vehicles emitted 2.4 and five times higher NOx emissions, respectively. 

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Interestingly, the study concluded that the tests conducted by PUCC do not reflect real-world conditions. This is primarily due to the limitations in the PUCC procedure which feels dated, coupled with the lack of a proper infrastructure with no remote sensing technology to inspect this procedure.