In view of curbing air pollution, the Bihar transport department on Wednesday said it has been promoting the use of e-vehicles and cleaner fuel and will increase CNG stations from two to 11 in the city by end of December.
People have started converting their petrol auto- rickshaw and cars into CNG mode, which reduces the pollution level significantly and also gives better mileage, transport Secretary Sanjay Kumar Agarwal said.
"We are promoting the use of CNG and e-vehicles in order to reduce pollution level," state transport minister Santosh Kumar Nirala told reporters here at a press conference.
He also felicitated some of the auto-rickshaw drivers who converted their petrol vehicles into compressed natural gas (CNG) mode.
Agarwal urged people to go for conversion of their petrol vehicles into CNG one for which the department has designated seven agencies.
At present, there are only "two CNG stations" in Patna, which is a problem, Agarwal said. He said the "number will be increased to five by the end of September and the same will further be enhanced to 11 by the end of this year".
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Apart from two existing CNG stations at Rukanpura on Bailey road and toll plaza in Didarganj, the three new stations being installed by GAIL will be set up at Zero mile, Saguna Mor and near Bata factory in Digha, he said.
Compared to petrol, the cost of CNG is half, the Secretary said.
Explaining further, he said if a car runs on petrol, the cost of fuel is around Rs 6 per km while the same comes down to Rs 3-3.5 per km for a CNG-run vehicle.
Agarwal also laid emphasis on the use of e-vehicles saying that the Chief Minister Nitish Kumar started riding electric vehicles in order to promote green mode of transport.
In a bid to send out a message on environment protection, Kumar reached the state assembly in an electric car during the recently-concluded monsoon session.
The state government has started giving 50 per cent tax subsidy on the registration fee for e-vehicles, Agarwal said adding that the sale of e-rickshaw in Bihar is the highest in the country.
Agarwal said electric charging stations will be set up in Patna and other major cities with the help of central government's company EESL so that people can easily charge their vehicles.
The state government is also considering to bring a "vehicle policy" which will decide the number of auto- rickshaws to be allowed to run on a particular stretch, Agarwal said adding that a decision in this regard will be taken after consulting all the stakeholders including auto- rickshaw owners.
He also said safety audit is being carried out for all the major roads in the city and also in the state, which would help the department in identifying the required infrastructure such as foot paths and over bridge, underpass.
"The audit will be completed by the end of March 2020 and measures will be taken to rectify the faults on roads," he added.