The move has come after the EPCA found a number of heavy-duty vehicles entering the city to be visibly polluting, during its special drive to check the entry of non-destined vehicles at the city's 124 border points. "We have asked the state transport authorities to monitor and crack down on the PUC centres, which do not have the necessary apparatus or staff trained for the job. The problem is worse in states, including Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, where the rejection rate is only 2 per cent. Also, most centres checked last year were found to be ill-equipped, while the staff did not know how to take the readings," a senior official said.

Monitoring of the PUC fitness centres by the respective State Transport Authority (STA) and a task force formed by the state governments is part of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) prepared by the EPCA, to be rolled out on October 15.

GRAP, which has an advisory for each category of air pollution, will be implemented in Delhi-NCR between October 15 and March 15.

The plan came into existence last November, after the National Capital witnessed layers of smog after Diwali, with air quality turning almost poisonous."PUC centres will have to be monitored by respective governments, as the records of most centres in neighbouring states and in outer Delhi were found to be fudged last year. We have asked the Delhi government departments to be ready for the measures to be taken under the plan. It is crucial that we don't allow a repeat of last year's lethal smog," said Bhure Lal, Chairman, EPCA.

According to the action plan, measures under the 'severe' and 'emergency' categories also include stopping heavy goods vehicles (except for those with essentials) to enter the city limits. The Transport Department and the traffic police will be responsible for identifying alternative routes for these vehicles.

Also, the corporations and the government agencies will be tasked to identify construction sites across the city.