Thiruvananthapuram: If a Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificate is found to be fake, the vehicle’s registration will be cancelled. The Motor Vehicles Department has begun the process of cancelling the registration of 50 vehicles that obtained fake PUC certificates from other states. Show-cause notices have been issued to the owners.

A special inspection has been launched to collect information on vehicles securing certificates from PUC centres in other states. The system is arranged in such a way that if Kerala-registered vehicles are inspected elsewhere, the information will be available.

The Transport Commissioner has written to the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways seeking the cancellation of the registration of institutions that issue fake PUC certificates to Kerala.

Irregularities were detected in PUC centres in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Haryana and West Bengal. The list has been submitted to the Centre. These centres are issuing PUC certificates using fake software.

If you provide a picture, you will get the certificate

The picture of a vehicle requiring a certificate is taken with a mobile phone and then handed over to centres issuing fake PUC certificates. They attach the picture of the vehicle, show that the inspection was carried out there, and issue the certificate.

The vehicle owner’s mobile number has been made mandatory for the PUC. The test can now be completed only using a one-time password sent to the owner’s Aadhaar-linked mobile number.

Those who do not have their mobile numbers updated in the vehicle records are turning to fake PUC certificates. Some PUC centre operators in the state are also acting as intermediaries.