Vehicle owners cram lone pollution testing centre in city

SHILLONG: The single pollution testing centre of the Meghalaya Pollution State Control Board (MPSCB) at Motinagar is struggling to cater to the rising number of vehicles in the city as well as Garo Hills but there is no direction from the Transport Department to open more units to tackle the problem.
Sources said MPSCB is authorised by the Transport Department to open pollution testing centres and in recent times, there has been no direction to open more centres in the city or in any other part of the state.
The number of vehicles turning up at the pollution testing centre has increased following implementation of the amended Motor Vehicles Act, which imposes steep fines in absence of pollution under check (PUC) certificates.
The sources said there is “definitely a need to open more such centres in the state”.
For vehicle owners in Garo Hills, the situation is worse in absence of a testing centre. The Motinagar centre caters to vehicles from Garo Hills.
If a driver is caught without a PUC, he or she has to shell out Rs 10,000 as penalty. Previously, it was Rs 1,000 for the first violation and Rs 2,000 for the second time.