India: Deadline for public transport CNG conversion extended again

Monday, February 26, 2007,

AutomotiveWorld.com

The Indian state of Uttar Pradesh has extended yet again the deadline for mandatory conversion of diesel/gasoline driven public transport vehicles into compressed natural gas (CNG) beyond 28 February 2007, reports Indian newspaper Hindustan Times. The regulation affects the cities of Lucknow, Kanpur and Agra.

An official announcement with the new deadline is expected only after the state transport authority (STA) takes a formal decision regarding the issue. However, sources claim that this extension will be conditional (as opposed to a general blanket extension) and is expected to be the last one, the report said.

This is the fourth time that the transport department has extended the conversion deadline. The department had fixed 30 November 2006 as the original deadline, which was later extended to 31 December and then again to 28 February 2007.

The department blamed the delay on the insufficient availability of CNG in the city as well as the shortage of CNG vehicles required to replace the diesel/ gasoline vehicles. It explained that banning public transport vehicles without offering a replacement would cause an inconvenience to commuters.

Published on Monday, February 26, 2007