Maharashtra State likely to make CNG compulsory for city vehicles
Express News Service. Pune, July 25, 2007
http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=247613
As a measure to control pollution, the State government is considering a proposal to make Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) compulsory for vehicles in Pune, Thane Municipal Corporation area, Nagpur, Aurangabad and Solapur. The state had already made the use of CNG mandatory for public vehicles in Mumbai and also disallowed the use of old vehicles. State Environment Minister Ganesh Naik said this in the legislative council on Wednesday replying to a question about deaths in the state due to water pollution related diseases from Arjun Khotkar and others.
Pune is among the most polluted cities in the country. An agreement has been already signed between Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) to supply Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Piped Natural Gas (PNG) to Pune. The Dahej-Uran pipeline (DUPL) was to be extended to Pune to supply gas to the CNG mother station.
The pipeline was to be complete by mid-2007. GAIL would be using the BPCL network of petrol pumps and sales service to leverage the potential of the joint venture company. BPCL has 27 outlets in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, and CNG distribution would not be a problem.