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| To begin with, the state government is working out a plan to convert as many as 150 buses plying between Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar to CNG.
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| It has also initiated consultations with private parties to provide conversion kits to autorickshaw drivers in Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar.
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| Autorickshaws are by far the main contributors to air pollution in Ahmedabad, which has been recording high levels of suspended particulate matter (SPM), nitrogen dioxide and carbon dioxide in the past few years.
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| "We intend to make Gandhinagar a pollution-free city soon. That will be possible when public transport vehicles entering Gandhinagar are converted to CNG," said Saurabh Dalal, minister of state for energy and petrochemicals.
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| The minister is at the helm of affairs of the state government plan to set up a gas grid along the state. This will be followed by setting up of CNG stations in different cities.
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| "We are in talks with oil companies to set up CNG dispensers along with petrol and diesel dispensers. That will save costs on setting up a new infrastructure for CNG dispensing," the minister said.
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| However, a shortage of funds is expected to be a major obstacle in the state government plans to convert public transport vehicles to CNG.
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| Both the Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC) and the Ahmedabad Municipal Transport Service (AMTS), which run the public bus service in the state and Ahmedabad city respectively, are cash-strapped and need state government assistance in converting their fleet to CNG or buying new CNG buses.
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| While GSRTC has over 9,000 buses, the AMTS runs around 400 buses in Ahmedabad.
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| As far as setting up a gas network and CNG stations is concerned, the minister was upbeat. "In the next one year, we will install pipelines equal to what have been installed in the past three years, meaning that the work will be thrice faster in the next one year. Gujarat will be the first state to have such a wide area of gas network for vehicles and user industries," Dalal said.
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| He added that the Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation Ltd (GSPCL) is putting up a CNG distribution chain across the state with an initial investment of over Rs 500 crore in next two years.
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| Besides, GSPCL, major players like Shell Hazira and LNG Petronet also are in the process of commissioning their natural gas projects in Hazira and Dahej respectively.
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| Also, the Adani group has recently bagged licences to sell CNG and piped natural gas in Ahmedabad and Vadodara.
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| GSPCL, the nodal agency in this sector, has also tied up with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) for setting up CNG dispensers at HPCL petrol pumps.
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| Automobile companies, meanwhile, are in talks with the state government for introducing CNG-powered buses in th state.
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| According to Ashok Leyland officials, there will be a requirement of around 1,000 CNG buses in Gujarat every year.
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| The number of CNG buses required every year throughout the country is around 5,000. Leyland has initiated talks with the GSRTC on the issue. |
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