What price pollution?

-- COMPRESSED Natural Gas (CNG)-fuelled 4-wheelers may soon be commercially viable in Delhi following the equipping of a petrol station with facilities to supply the petrol substitute. The station is registering a select number of applicants to convert vehicles to run on petrol and CNG in dual fuel mode.

Last year, about 40 vehicles were retrofitted in the city under an experimental programme. In Bombay and Baroda, over 300 vehicles already run on CNG. The ministry of petroleum and natural gas, concerned at the 15 million tonnes of natural gas being flared annually in the country, is promoting the idea to utilise the fuel. It has decided to convert about 2,500 vehicles a year to CNG.

CNG consists of hydrocarbon gases, mainly methane, compressed into cylinders for vehicular use. The gas is being sold at Rs 11.30 per kg. Each kg of CNG supplies energy that is equal to 1.4 litres of petrol. The government has authorised the Gas Authority of India Ltd to import the conversion kits for petrol-driven vehicles. The cost of conversion is Rs 2,500 and the kits will be sold for Rs 25,000.

CNG is considered an environmentally favourable transport fuel as it burns more cleanly than petrol. However, the drawback in using CNG is that its cylinders require more storage space than petrol.