Lop Patnaik Criticises Odisha Govt Over PUC Enforcement Chaos

(MENAFN- IANS) Bhubaneswar, Jan 9 (IANS) Leader of the Opposition (LoP) and BJD President Naveen Patnaik on Friday slammed the Odisha government, accusing it of mishandling the Pollution Under Control (PUC) Certificate enforcement, creating chaos and causing hardships to the common public.

Taking to his X handle, former Chief Minister Patnaik alleged that the handling of the PUC certification issue by the BJP-led Odisha government was marked by 'gross mismanagement' and repeated 'policy flip-flops'.

LoP Patnaik further targeted the state government, saying that the sudden announcement of the "No PUC, No Fuel" rule from January 1, 2026, resulted in chaos, with massive queues at testing centres across the state.

“The BJP government failed to prepare adequately, with no expansion of testing infrastructure, no advance planning, and no awareness campaigns on the required scale,” claimed the ex-CM.

He noted that massive public outrage forced the government to first defer the enforcement to February 1, then to March 31, and most recently it announced a blanket relaxation, with no fines until April 1, including suspension of e-detection at toll gates.

“These repeated reversals expose the utter incompetence and lack of foresight in the Transport Department. The people of Odisha deserve better governance, policies that are implemented without causing unnecessary suffering. While controlling vehicular pollution is important, it cannot come at the cost of harassing citizens,” added Patnaik.

The BJD supremo said his party stands firmly with the people and will continue to protest against the mismanagement. Patnaik also urged the state government to learn from its mistakes and refrain from taking hasty decisions.

“We demand immediate scale up of the PUC testing facilities. Simplify the process, and ensure no undue penalties are imposed on people during this transition period. I urge the BJP government to learn from these mistakes and prioritise the welfare of Odisha's citizens over hasty decisions,” urged the BJD chief.

Notably, in December last year, the Odisha government announced strict enforcement of PUC norms during the Road Safety Month (January 1–Jan 31, 2026) and instructed oil companies not to sell fuel to vehicles without valid PUC certificates.

However, the decision was later postponed to February 1, 2026 due to difficulties faced by vehicle owners in obtaining certificates. In the latest development, the state government has further extended relaxation for checking PUCC until April 1.

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