CNG: The right choice?

CNG, known to be a clean fuel, is certainly not the only choice for public transport. It is a desirable option to convert petrol-based vehicles, such as taxis and three-wheelers, to the use of this fuel. But CNG is not the best choice for conversion of buses fitted with diesel engines. Therefore, no city in the world?from Los Angeles (a city with very strict environmental regulations) to New York, London, Paris, and Stockholm?has even one-tenth the 10,000 buses that we are attempting to convert to CNG in Delhi. Nor has any city taken a sweeping decision, as we in Delhi, to convert such a high percentage of its bus fleet without proper trials and assessment under actual operating conditions. Also, all such trials are carried out with a choice of more than one fuel for comparison, and not with all options closed to the glory of a single miraculous solution such as CNG. In principle, it is far more desirable to lay down permissible limits to pollution and specify the degree of environmental quality that should be achieved and maintained than to prescribe specific technologies and regimented solutions. In the case of public transport, if emissions norms were to be laid down and enforced for individual vehicles, then we would need a system of road checks to monitor compliance?an administrative challenge difficult to tackle, open to malpractices and distortions, defeating the purpose of improving air quality. One may have to begin with some degree of regulation, which can, over a period of time, give way to judiciously devised market-based instruments, using taxes and fiscal incentives. A regulatory approach, however, places on the regulator the onerous responsibility of devising practical, implementable, and economic methods and outcomes. Therein lies the importance of field trials under actual operating conditions. For instance, in the case of CNG, not only is a huge cost to be incurred in setting up supply infrastructure in Delhi, but the technical performance of buses converted by the single monopolistic agency approved for this purpose, is also questionable. Similarly questionable are the pollution-reduction benefits of CNG in relation to the use of ultra low sulphur diesel : 0.005 per cent sulphur) being adopted increasingly in cities worldwide. The evangelical missionaries of the CNG-option reject and pooh-pooh the data from other countries. But if the rest of the world is misguided, why did the committee set up for the purpose in Delhi not generate its own data by carrying out trials on the Delhi roads? The fact that current efforts appear to focus only on CNG for public transport is symptomatic of a fragmented approach. Air pollution in cities like Delhi can best be lowered by weaning people away from private transport through the provision of a larger number of buses providing superior service. Similarly, better traffic management and reduced congestion can make a major and positive impact on air quality as would improved maintenance and upkeep of vehicles. A clean fuel would lose its advantage if it is burned in a badly maintained engine. The sole emphasis on CNG as a fuel for public transport in Delhi ignores as much the need for a much broader improvement in the city?s transport system as it suppresses the merits of ULSD for buses?economic, technical, and environmental. Consequent on proper trials, if ULSD is to be used in Delhi for buses, the small quantity required can initially be imported. Subsequently, one or two refineries in India can produce ULSD to take care of the demand in all the metropolitan areas. This conversion of refinery capacity is not likely to cost more than a few hundred crores, which makes the figure of Rs 16,000?17,000 crore often mentioned by some another piece of deliberate disinformation. We do not need to convert all our refineries to produce ULSD. It is time we took an objective and balanced view of fuel choices for our cities. The shrill cries that CNG is being opposed by the diesel-lobby have now been replaced by accusations that the lobby of fuel adulterators is at work, simply because the diesel manufacturers themselves now want CNG, since they see huge profits in supply of CNG-bus chassis. Enough confusion has been created already. Let us solve this problem through dispassionate analysis.