(Mandar picture)Pune: The All Maharashtra PUC Owners Association has demanded that the state increase the cost of obtaining a pollution under control (PUC) certificate, failing which the group will start a protest and may go on a statewide strike.State transport commissioner Vivek Bhimanwar told TOI: “There is a demand to increase the cost of PUC certificates. I have constituted a committee to study charges in other states. The committee will complete the study soon and a decision on new PUC rates, if any, will be taken based on their report.”At present, Maharashtra has around 2,200 PUC centres and the last hike in charges happened in 2022.Association president Sandip Bhandare said they have been demanding the hike for long now. “The process of granting PUC certificates has undergone several changes. Last year, there was a software upgrade, which required us to use high-end Android phones. Also, we need to take two pictures, one from the front and the other from the rear, along with a five-second video of the vehicle at the PUC centre. These have to be uploaded together. All this has increased the cost centre owners incur,” Bhandare told TOI.In 2024, Maharashtra issued 1.1 crore PUC certificates. This year, till early Sept, 77.7 lakh PUC documents have been issued. In 2025, the Pune RTO issued 7.9 lakh PUC certificates and the Pimpri Chinchwad RTO office has granted 5 lakh certificates, so far. As per regulations of the Motor Vehicles Act, Rs10,000 fine is levied in the absence of the said document.“Transport department officials have remained unresponsive till now. We will hold a sit-in agitation and could go on a strike too if our demands are not met. We are discussing among ourselves and will decide a future course of action soon. We plan to meet state transport minister Pratap Sarnaik, this month,” Bhandare said.At present, charges for a PUC certificate in the state are Rs50 for a two-wheeler, Rs100 for a three-wheeler, Rs125 for a four-wheeler operating on petrol, CNG and PNG, and Rs150 for four-wheelers running on diesel. The validity of the PUC paper depends on the make of the engine — one year for BS-IV vehicles and six months for a BS-III vehicle.“Our demand is that the PUC document rate for two-wheelers be revised to Rs100 (BS-III valid for six months) and Rs120 (BS-IV valid for one year). The rates for three-wheelers should be Rs130 (BS-III for six months) and Rs150 (BS-IV for a year). The same should be Rs200 (BS-III for six months) and Rs250 (BS-IV for one year) for four-wheelers. Revised charges for diesel vehicles should be Rs250 (BS-III for six months) and Rs300 (BS-IV for one year),” Bhandare added.
