A certificate 'polluted'

HYDERABAD: Wondering why the city air is getting more polluted despite the 'strict' checks being carried out on all vehicles? Here is perhaps a possible explanation.
A visit to a few PUC (pollution under control) vans in the city reveals just how easy it is to get the PUC certificate, for as meagre an amount as Rs 65 that too for a car and a number that do not exist.These certificates, 'authorised by Transport Department, Government of Andhra Pradesh' are purchased by van owners for Rs 5 and they in turn make a manifold profit.
To get first hand information, this reporter posed as the owner of an old car, gave a fictitious car number to a PUC van stationed at SP Road, Begumpet. Within minutes, the owner of the van deftly carried out the entire 'PUC check' and handed a certificate carrying a 'picture' of the non-existent car's number plate. "Don't worry, madam," he assured, saying the certificate carried a six-month validity and thus peace of mind.
So how exactly do these vans go about checking pollution levels? In this case, the fictitious PUC seeker gave Maruti 800 as the car model and the year of purchase as 1999.
The car number was printed in bold letters on Microsoft Word and its printout was taken on a white sheet, which was then clicked by a camera. The blurred image of this number gave the impression of the car's number plate.
The certificate handed over neatly in a plastic cover gives a clean chit to the car by giving its Carbon Monoxide reading as 0.83 per cent, safely below the 3 per cent mark as per regulations. The Hydrocarbon reading is 565 ppm, way below the regulated mark of 1500. It further reads "Certified that this vehicle's CO emission level confirms to the standards prescribed under Rule 115(2) of CMV rules 1989."
Asked if the certificate was a fake one, the van owner said, "The certificate is original and we get it from RTA." Another PUC van owner at Tarnaka said that he purchased the certificates for Rs 5 each and assured there is never a problem.
Road Transport Authority officials say that they had received such complaints last year and licences of such vans were cancelled. "At present, due to shortage of manpower, proper monitoring of these vans is not done," says B. Venkateshwarlu, joint transport commissioner and secretary, RTA.
He says there are more than 70 mobile centres for checking pollution in the form of RTA vans in the city. "These vans are approved by RTA and the certificates given by them are RTA approved too," he says. Going by official estimate, on the number of vehicles undergoing PUC check, of the 13.3 vehicles requiring PUC checks a good 12.6 lakh were already covered as on April 2008. As per official estimates there are only 70,967 vehicles in the city that have not yet undergone a PUC check.