Vehicular emission testing in doldrums
Source: Hueiyen News Service

Imphal, December 19 2012: Although testing of pollution from vehicular emission is mandatory, the exercise has been completely stopped in the State and the Transport Department which is responsible for testing the vehicular emission has been found doling out emission certificates to whosoever applies for it on payment of Rs 100 each.

The emission certificate is among the required documents a person should possess for owning a vehicle in India.

Those individuals who do not have emission certificate could be fined if they are caught by the authority concerned.

In Manipur, levying of fine over such cases is being carried out by the Motor vehicle section of Transport Department with the help of Police.

The office of Transport Officer, Imphal West is presently located at the Crane Section cum Pollution Testing Centre of Transport Department at Moirangkhom.

The smoke emitted from all petrol and diesel run vehicles are tested in this section.

However, after one of the machines, out of the two, broke down for more than year, all the necessary testing had been stopped.

But emission certificates continue to be issued to whosoever applies for it on payment of Rs 100 .

One person who happened to come out of the office after acquiring about the emission certificate told Hueiyen Lanpao that the officials present in the office issued the certificate without testing the level of pollution emitted from his vehicle.

"They just note down the registration number of my vehicle and issue the emission certificate after asking to pay Rs 100", he disclosed.

When investigated, it was found out that the staffs in the Crane Section cum Pollution Testing Centre have been charging Rs 100 instead of the actual Rs 15 for testing of vehicles and issuing emission certificates.

Surprisingly, the record of the amount thus charged from the vehicle owners is never maintained and no TR is provided to the vehicle owner.

This indicates that the amount charged from the public goes into the pockets of the staffs.

Over and above this, the certificate issued also contains signatures of two officers.

On the other hand, Manipur Pollution Control Board is also learnt to have stopped monitoring vehicles which emit excessive smoke, which was done earlier.

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