Maharashtra Govt Plans Tech System to Stop Fuel for Vehicles Without PUC Certificate
Mumbai, 19th March 2026: The Maharashtra government is working on a technology-based mechanism that could stop fuel supply to vehicles lacking a valid Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificate, Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik informed the legislative council on Wednesday.
The proposal is aimed at tightening enforcement of emission norms and reducing vehicle pollution across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and other parts of the state.
The minister made the statement while replying to a discussion on a bill that seeks to significantly raise the environmental tax on private vehicles that are more than 15 years old. The amendment, which was later cleared by the council, mandates that vehicles complying with BS-IV emission standards or older will now have to pay double the existing environmental tax.
According to Sarnaik, the government plans to deploy an integrated digital system that will link petrol pumps with the central vehicle database. The system will use software tools, GPS integration and geotagging to verify whether a vehicle has a valid PUC certificate before fuel is dispensed. Petrol pumps will rely on the VAHAN database to verify compliance.
Officials believe the move will close existing gaps in enforcement and ensure that vehicle owners maintain valid pollution certificates.
Sarnaik told the council that large-scale manual inspection of vehicles is not feasible. He also noted that in some cases PUC certificates are issued for as little as Rs 50 without proper emission testing, undermining the purpose of the regulation. Fuel stations, he said, could serve as effective checkpoints to ensure compliance.
The minister also highlighted other measures being pursued by the state government to reduce pollution and improve urban mobility. These include the rollout of an Intelligent Traffic Management System and implementation of an electric vehicle policy aimed at boosting EV adoption. Incentives are being planned to encourage private players to establish more charging infrastructure.
Meanwhile, a comprehensive parking policy for the Mumbai Metropolitan Region is also under preparation.
During the debate, MLC Sachin Ahir stressed the need to strengthen public transport systems. He suggested that the government should even explore the possibility of making public transport free in the future, referring to the model adopted by Luxembourg in 2020.
