Switching to CNG

Just days before the expiry of the deadline given to auto operators to switch over to clean fuel like LPG/CNG, the state government said on Friday that it would file a fresh petition in the Calcutta High Court for extending the deadline.

“The court has set a deadline of December 31 but we will seek an extension,” State Tansport Minister Subhas Chakraborty told reporters. A petition in this regard will be submitted before the court on December 29.

The minister said the state government would seek a three-month extension of the time limit so that the three wheelers could be phased out in a gradual manner.

According to the order passed by the court, the three-wheelers were to be phased out in three stages — all two-stroke autos by December 31, 2008; all four-stroke autos and not converted to clean fuel plying within the Kolkata Municipal Corporation area by March 31, 2009; all four-stroke autos not converted to clean fuel plying within the greater Calcutta area by December 31, 2009.

Chakraborty added that the hooters of VIP cars also caused a lot of noise pollution and hence only one pilot car should be fitted with a hooter. He said the state would bring new norms so that “No Horn Zones” are created around schools and hospitals. Transport secretary Sumantra Choudhury, however, said since the High Court would be closed during the vacation, no petition could be filed before January 10. Till the time the court issues another order, all two- stroke autos would be banned from plying in Kolkata, he added.