New Delhi, July 27 -- The Delhi transport department has issued nearly 163,000 Pollution Under Control (PUC) challans so far in 2025-over a 300% rise in monthly average compared to last year. While data for the same period in 2024 was unavailable, officials said 68,000 challans were issued through all of last year, 43,500 in 2022, and 36,000 in 2021. Officials attributed the sharp increase to a renewed enforcement push and digital tools such as the Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras and real-time database tracking. "High-resolution ANPR cameras installed at 300 fuel stations capture license plates and cross-check them with the central vehicle database via the mParivahan API. If a vehicle lacks a valid PUC certificate, and it isn't renewed within an hour, an e-challan is auto-generated," said a transport official. The system is fully automated and managed through a centralised server at the department headquarters. Challan alerts are sent via SMS to vehicle owners. As of January 2025, Delhi had around 8.2 million active vehicles, of which 2.6 million lacked valid PUC certificates. Section 190(2) of the Motor Vehicles Act mandates a valid PUC certificate. Violation can lead to prosecution, up to three months' imprisonment, or a Rs.10,000 fine. "The government must ensure 100% credible and properly conducted PUC tests," said CSE's Anumita Roychowdhury....