Hyderabad, January 12: Environmental Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) Chairman Bhure Lal on Wednesday stated that Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) would be available in the city from April 15 through 14 stations.
Speaking after inspecting the Bhagyanagar Gas Company at Shameerpet to ensure that the plant meets the stringent safety norms set by the EPCA, the Chairman said that CNG would be about 25 per cent to 30 per cent cheaper than diesel, besides being environment friendly.
He pointed out that the Delhi government has declared diesel as a major pollutant and has taken measures to make people opt for alternative fuels. CNG has emerged as the major alternative to diesel in the National Capital and has gone a long way in decreasing pollution levels there.
Dr Bhure Lal said that the EPCA had been formed to control pollution by the Union Government on the orders of the Supreme Court of India. He said that the Bhagyanagar Gas Limited will supply 60,000 standard cubic metres of CNG daily through a 250 km pipeline daily.
Dr Bhure Lal said that about 40,000 auto-rickshaws run on LPG while only 3000 of these vehicles run on CNG. He added that the EPCA foresees that other automobiles will switch over to using CNG since this will become more affordable for them.
The EPCA Chairman added that the Andhra Pradesh Road Transport Corporation has already ordered 350 CNG buses.
Dr Bhure Lal appealed to the state government to forego VAT and other taxes so that CNG could become even more affordable, thus making more people switch over to its usage. He added that the Delhi and Gujarat governments have also given tax concessions to CNG plants, with a view to control pollution levels.
The EPCA Chairman also urged petrol pumps in the city to allocate space so that CNG dispensing units could be set up on their premises.
Dr Bhure Lal assured that special care will be taken to ensure that the CNG kits to be fitted in three-wheelers and four-wheelers meet all safety norms.
He also revealed that plans are in the offing to supply cooking gas for domestic use by the same company.
INN