Auto LPG is the most effective option for converting the existing pool of petrol-fuelled cars and bikes into more environment-friendly vehicles, an industry body said on Monday.
Auto LPG is fast emerging worldwide as a cleaner and much cheaper alternative to petrol and diesel, even better than compressed natural gas (CNG) fuel, the Indian Auto LPG Coalition (IAC) said on Monday, citing a study it has commissioned.
The study conducted by the Marketing and Development Research Associates (MDRA) said while auto LPG's operating expenses are up to 50 per cent lower than petrol, LPG vehicles are cheaper than CNG ones, and the investment in auto LPG infrastructure and installation time are lower than for a CNG station.
The study said the most significant advantage of auto LPG is its contribution to improving the air quality.
"Auto LPG is the most effective option for converting the existing pool of petrol-fuelled cars and bikes into more environment-friendly vehicles. It also provides tremendous opportunity to avoid usage of highly polluting carcinogenic diesel-fuelled cars for personal and public transport," the IAC said.
"Auto LPG is currently available in more than 500 cities across India, including 19 outlets in Delhi. It is already the preferred fuel in south India, and fast catching up in other parts of the country," it added.
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The auto LPG body cited the World Health Organiaation data that 13 out of 20 most polluted cities in the world are from India.
"Delhi tops this list with 153 micrograms of PM2.5 per cubic meter, while PM2.5 should not exceed 10 micrograms per cubic meter. Health cost of air pollution in India has been assessed at 3 per cent of its GDP," it said.
"Among the cleaner fuels, auto LPG is the most suited as it can be fitted in two-wheelers as well," IAC President and Executive Director of state-run Indian Oil Corp Y.K. Gupta said in the statement.
"More than 26 million vehicles run on auto LPG globally in more than 70 countries, and therefore auto LPG has become the third-largest selling fuel in the world, after petrol and diesel," he added.
--IANS
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