Karnataka-registered vehicles in other states are being fined of up to Rs10,000 as the state government’s Pollution Under Control Certificate (PUCC) database is not linked to the Centre’s Vahan (Parivahan)
portal.
Karnataka government has a separate portal for PUCCs – etc.karnataka.gov.in – which is not integrated with the national Vahan database. This means, the AI-powered traffic enforcement cameras in states such as Odisha and Goa, wherein e-challans are automatically generated, flag vehicles with valid Karnataka license certificates as having “expired PUCC”.
According to Moneycontrol, this has led to widespread inconvenience for Karnataka-registered vehicles travelling outside the state, with several motorists reporting fines of Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000 after automated systems detected alleged pollution violations.
As per the Motor Vehicles Act, those found driving without a valid Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificate will be fined Rs 10,000.
Moneycontrol quoted motorists saying that people who are affected have vehicles older than one year as AI-enabled cameras and e-detection systems in other states rely on the Parivahan database to verify PUCC validity. Hence, the system flag these vehicles as non-compliant.
One of the motorists, Ashis Baliyarsingh shared a post on on X stating: ““I was driving with all valid documents, including a PUCC valid till December 2026, yet wrong challans were issued.”
Many have stated that despite raising grievances through official channels and sharing valid PUCC documents, responses have been slow or absent.
In response to the growing concerns on this, state transport minister R Ramalinga Reddy has assured he would discuss the matter with the transport commissioner and “will rectify it”.
