New Delhi, Dec. 22 -- The Delhi government recently barred the sale of fuel to those without valid Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificates. Indeed, the Delhi government alone has issued over 61,000 PUCCs on December 17-18. Is this useful for public health? I am not sure. My scepticism is fueled by three factors. According to a 2025 report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), 108,000 vehicles in Delhi "received PUC certificates despite exceeding limits for Carbon Monoxide (CO) and Hydrocarbons (HC)". Going by this, the entire premise of PUCs enabling cleaner air is flawed, suggesting that the system needs to be overhauled. Not only do the checks require improvement, but the system must be made tamper-proof. Second, the PUCs do no...