Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala government has rolled back the increased rates for pollution testing of petrol and gas-powered vehicles, after it was found that the promised upgrade to modern testing systems had not been implemented despite collecting higher fees for nearly a year.

As per the earlier hike, two-wheelers under BS-IV and BS-VI categories were charged ₹100 for emission testing, while cars were charged ₹130. These rates have now been reduced to ₹80 for two-wheelers and ₹100 for cars. Meanwhile, the validity of the pollution certificate remains for one year.

The decision comes after a review revealed that pollution testing centres across the state had failed to implement the advanced Lambda testing systems, mandated under central government norms for BS-IV petrol, CNG, and LPG four-wheelers, and for all categories of petrol/CNG/LPG vehicles.

Citing the additional cost involved in installing these modern systems, test centre operators had earlier requested the government for a fee hike, which was approved a year ago. However, it was found that most centres continued to use the old testing procedures, without upgrading to Lambda , despite charging the higher fee.

Taking note of this lapse, the State Transport Commissioner submitted a report to the government, highlighting the failure to improve testing standards and recommending a rollback of the increased charges. Following this, the revised lower rates were implemented.