IATO files petition in Supreme Court on CNG conversions

Amiti Sen

New Delhi, May 15: THE Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) has filed a petition with the Supreme Court requesting it to reconsider mandatory conversion of all commercial vehicles in Delhi to the compressed natural gas (CNG) mode. It contention is that operating inter-state buses on CNG is not feasible due to the unavailability of the fuel outside Delhi.

IATO has also requested the apex court to consider alternative clean fuels and has submitted a technical feasibility report on CNG and other fuels prepared by energy experts from the Indian Institute of Technology to Environment Pollution (prevention and control) Authority chairman Bhure Lal.

Speaking to The Financial Express, IATO president Badri Bajaj said tour operators would find it very difficult to adhere to the SC’s decision as it could adversely affect their business.

Mr Bajaj said almost half the number of international tourists visiting India arrive in Delhi and travel in air-conditioned coaches which operate on two-diesel engines. He said the apex court had not given a clear directive on what fuel to use for both the engines.

Installing additional cylinders on tourist coaches would reduce the carrying capacity of coaches and the trade would become increasingly uncompetitive, he added. The technical feasibility study conducted by energy experts at the behest of IATO indicates that whereas the hydro carbon (HC) and nitrogen oxide (NO) emission contents are lower in the case of CNG when compared to diesel, the carbon monoxide (CO) emission is higher.

The report said for using CNG, diesel engines have to be converted to spark ignition engines which would result in in-deficiency of air and increased CO emission in the exhaust. It also would raise larger heat dissipation and development of high temperature. It added that low sulphur diesel (0.05 per cent) in compressed ignition engine fitted with a particle trap could be a viable replacement for CNG.