Odisha Halts ‘No PUC, No Fuel’ Enforcement Until April 1 as Opposition Faults Rollout

Overview

• The state paused pollution-related fines and suspended toll-gate e-detection until April 1 after public pushback over the rollout.
• Authorities had planned strict checks from January 1, then deferred enforcement to February 1 and March 31 before announcing a blanket relaxation.
• Only about 21% of vehicles currently have valid PUC certificates, a shortfall that contributed to long queues and bottlenecks at testing centres.
• Leader of the Opposition Naveen Patnaik accused the BJP government of mismanagement and demanded rapid expansion of testing facilities, simpler procedures, and protection from penalties during the transition.
• Congress leader Bhakta Charan Das said authorities were burdening citizens while highly polluting industries faced less scrutiny, calling the approach unfair.