United States, India Cooperating To Cut Vehicular Air Pollution - Grant will help Indian partners reduce toxic emissions from trucks, buses: The United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has awarded a $296,000 grant to the city of Pune, in India’s Maharashtra state, to implement innovative measures that reduce vehicular air pollution. The grant will fund a project to retrofit diesel-fuelled buses with technologies designed to reduce toxic emissions and utilize low-sulfur diesel fuel, to test those technologies and to perform environmental impact assessments. It is part of a series of anti-pollution cooperative ventures between the United States and India. The grant was confirmed at a signing ceremony at the U.S. Consulate in Mumbai on September 1.
Source: The Washington File, Washington, September 8, 2006.

Pune gets grant to reduce vehicular pollution: As part of a series of anti-pollution cooperative ventures between Washington and New Delhi, the United States has given a USD 296,000 grant to Pune to introduce innovative measures and technologies to reduce vehicular pollution. The funding by the US trade and development agency is designed to retrofit diesel-fuelled buses with technologies designed to reduce toxic emissions and utilize low-sulfur diesel fuel. The fund will also be utilised to test those technologies and assess its environmental impact. The grant was finalised at a signing ceremony in Mumbai on September. Source: Zee News, Washington, September 10, 2006.

India, Germany ink MoU to promote clean fuel: The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) and the German automobile manufacturers association, VDA, have signed an MoU for collaboration towards sustainable development of road transport in the two countries. While inaugurating an Indo-German Symposium on `Strategies for Alternative Drives and Fuels,' Mr Santosh Mohan Dev, Heavy Industries Minister, said: "The Government has taken a sharp focus on the auto sector as a key driving factor of the economy. The Ministry will extend all support to the efforts in developing clean fuel technologies." As per the terms of the MoU, the two associations will exchange information on technology of mutual interest pertaining to increased fuel efficiency, alternative fuels, and the reduction of emissions from passenger cars and commercial vehicles.
Source: Business Line, New Delhi, September 10, 2006.

How green is my Fledge - A group of seven engineering students have developed India’s first gasoline electric car: The name is Fledge. And it’s a fledgling. It’s smart, savvy and environmentally correct, though. It is a hybrid car developed by seven mechanical engineering students of the Delhi College of Engineering (DCE). It’s also the country's first gasoline-electric vehicle. The vibrant green-coloured Fledge became a headline grabber when it won the first prize in the 2006 Tour de Sol, the American green car festival. Promising a green solution to the spiralling petrol prices and pollution crisis, the fledgling engineers say it is a green car with near zero emission in urban driving conditions.
Source: The Economic Times, New Delhi, September 10, 2006.

Car makers lean on IITs to check gas guzzlers: In their efforts to become more fuel-efficient, leading automotive companies such as General Motors, Tata Motors, and Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) have tied up with Indian institutes of technology (IITs) for carrying out research and development (R&D) work. Some others including Ford Motor Company are expected to follow suit. “With liquid fuel costs hitting $70 per barrel and going further, automotive companies around the world are trying to find new fuel-efficient engine technologies. The companies have tied up with premier research institutions in countries where they are present. Moreover, high-quality research can be done in a cost-effective manner at an institution like the IIT,” said Anang Dev Jena, head of Delhi-based automotive consultancy Synovate Motoresearch India.
Source: Business Standard, Mumbai, August 2, 2006.

Automotive Plan envisages creation of export hubs: The draft Automotive Mission Plan (AMP) prepared by the Central Government in consultation with the industry, which aims at doubling the contribution of the automotive sector to GDP by 2016, lays special emphasis on export of small cars, auto components and multi-utility vehicles (MUVs) and favours creation of three export hubs near Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata, each equipped to handle five lakh vehicles annually by 2015. An investment of about Rs. 180,000 crore would be required by 2016 to achieve the targets set in the plan. On exports, the document says that this opportunity lies mostly in the small car segment and India should capitalise on this and target becoming a manufacturing hub for A and B class vehicles. This is already being leveraged by OEMs like Hyundai (Santro), Suzuki (Maruti 800, Alto) and Tata Motors (Indica).
Source: The Hindu, New Delhi, September 14, 2006.

Autos wrest fume rights: With the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government consistent in its green policy of taking one step forward and two steps back, Calcuttans must keep breathing in poison fumes. The latest U-turn in the fight against foul air is the transport department revoking its earlier order of banning three-wheelers more than 10 years old from city streets if they did not convert to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). While the transport department has cited inadequate LPG outlets as the reason for the turnabout, sources said the decision has been forced by the CPM’s labour wing Citu, which has considerable clout among auto drivers. Oil firms, meanwhile, have rubbished the government’s excuse, claiming that enough outlets exist in the city and that they are ready to set up more if the demand rises. Of the 25,000-odd autorickshaws in and around the city, 10,000 are more than 10 to 15 years old. The government’s ban order in June 2005 had prompted several operators to queue up at LPG fitment centres and almost an equal number to withdraw their vehicles.
Source: Telegraph, August 30, 2006.

Clean fuels come to Gurgaon: In a major move by Haryana government, seven sites for compressed natural gas (CNG) and piped natural gas (PNG) stations in Gurgaon have been approved. Eight sites have also been approved in Faridabad. The stations will be constructed by an approved gas agency by the end of this year. The step will accelerate the commissioning of air-conditioned CNG buses for the city, which should start plying within Gurgaon by the end of this year. Said D S Dhillon, chief administrator, HUDA: ‘‘All the sites are spread over 1,500 square meters approximately. Three gas agencies have been approved by the government in order to procure CNG and PNG in the state. In Gurgaon, gas will be procured from Indraprastha Gas Limited. The stations will be constructed along national highway-8 and at commercial localities of new and old Gurgaon.’’
Source: The Times of India, New Delhi, August 1, 2006.

More CNG-driven cars by 2008: Come 2008 and at the city will see more CNG-driven cars, announced the chairman of West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB), Mr Sudip Banerjee. The board is all set to lay down guidelines to phase out cars more than 15 years old, in an effort to reduce pollution in the city. Diesel-run vehicles more than 15 years old are the major contributors to air pollution.
Source: The Statesman, Kolkata, August 4, 2006.

Carmakers cash in on CNG, LPG craze to woo customers: With petrol and diesel prices scaling new heights, carmakers sense a demand for vehicles running on costeffective CNG or LPG. Also, the government proposing an eight per cent excise duty concession as incentive to companies making CNG and LPG-propelled cars, has motivated almost all carmakers to launch a gas variant of their existing models. Maruti Udyog reportedly put in Rs 50 crore to re-engineer its popular model WagonR and launched the WagonR Duo, a petrol-LPG version recently. Taking a cue, Indica makers, Tata Motors have also announced their car’s CNG variant. However, it would only be available as an after-market fitment, at the dealer level through a tie-up with Shrimankar Gas Car Services, the Indian distributors for Bedini CNG kits, Italy. General Motors India will also launch a CNG variant of the Optra, while its competitor Ford India expects to launch the CNG version of Ikon by the year end. Mitsubishi Motors’ CNG version of the Mitsubishi Lancer is already available in the market. While all the carmakers are planning their CNG variants, Maruti hasn’t thought of producing CNG cars.
Source: The Asian Age, New Delhi, August 10, 2006.

AMC scraps subsidy to CNG bus operators: After offering a subsidy to private bus operators to run CNG buses in the city for over a year, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s (AMC) standing committee decided to scrap it on Thursday. The AMC had hired some 300 CNG buses since February last, where it offered a subsidy of Rs 5.5 lakh for a regular bus and Rs 3.5 lakh for a mini bus to operators, as an incentive, at a rate of Rs 15 per km. But with the interest rate going up from 7 to 9 per cent, the subsidy was proving to be expensive for the AMC. The AMC will now invite new tenders for hiring about 150 buses offering Rs 15.75 per km without any subsidy and for 25 low-floored buses at Rs 23.75 per km. The decision was taken on the recommendation of a committee comprising the standing committee chairman, transport committee chairman, transport manager and municipal commissioner.
Source: The Times of India, Ahmedabad, August 4, 2006.

Chhattisgarh jatropha order to rev up biofuel production: The Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh had become the poster boy for biofuels when he flagged off his own car running on biodiesel, a mix of oil extracted from jatropha and diesel, last year. This month, the state took its programme on biofuels to another level when it became the first state to formulate a policy that will enable the use of its wasteland by private companies for planting jatropha. Cleared by the state Cabinet, it will allow a company to enter into a joint venture with the government. The ownership of the land shall be transferred in the company’s name for 30 years. Among other roadblocks, the vexed land issue has prevented the national biofuels programme to take off. Most of the wasteland is government-owned preventing private companies from planting their own seeds. Seeing the potential of jatropha, numerous private players have expressed interest in setting up plants. Lack of availability of seeds has been a major setback.
Source: The Indian Express, New Delhi, August 30, 2006.

Biotech board to produce bio-diesel in Bengal: The Biotechnology Board in West Bengal has taken an initiative to produce bio-diesel from seeds of jatropha plants. Making a move in the direction, the board has decided to set up a dedicated park for jatropha plantation at Salt Lake. The move has been taken to join the national drive on producing biodiesel from jatropha. The park will come up on 36 kattas, adjacent to the central park in Salt Lake. The site has been selected for the park because land in the area will be freely available from the state department of planning and development, which now owns the land.
Source: The Economic Times, New Delhi, September 4, 2006.

Ethanol blending from Nov 1, Deora: Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said today that blending under the ethanol- blended programme (EBP) will commence on November 1. Mr Deora has asked the oil marketing companies for early implementation of the EBP programme on a national scale. “The process of procurement of ethanol by oil companies has commenced with the OMCs issuing public notices,” the minister said. Oil marketing companies will have to procure almost 60 crore litres of ethanol for blending with petrol to promote green fuel in the country. The programme will be implemented in all states except the North-East region, Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Petroleum Minister Murli Deora has scrapped the process of buying sugarcane extract at a negotiated price and instead asked the public sector oil marketing companies to call for open tenders. The open bidding process will remove fears of cartelisation. Meanwhile, a major ethanol producer has made a unilateral offer to supply 10 crore litres of ethanol at Rs 21.50 a litre for five years. This is 35 per cent more than the price of any other fuel with the same calorific value. The energy equivalent price of ethanol works out to Rs 15.60 a litre, taking one-year peak petrol cost of Rs 26 per litre. The Indian Sugar Manufacturers Association, however, want ethanol price to be linked to global crude.
Source: Tribune, New Delhi, September 9, 2006.

Is it goodbye to Delhi's cycle rickshaws? The humble rickshaw has travelled a long way in Delhi. But a ban on this integral mode of transportation in Delhi's Chandni Chowk may lead the now ubiquitous rickshaw pullers to oblivion. "It is quite an irony that while international cities like Berlin, Paris, Tokyo are steadily switching over to the usage of cycle rickshaws, in India, we are trying to get rid of this age-old mode transportation", says Nalin Sinha, programme director, Initiative for Transportation & Development Programmes (ITDP). "To say that cycle rickshaws cause traffic jams is incorrect. It is the petrol and diesel run vehicles like buses, cars that create traffic congestion in cities. Rickshaws are environment friendly as they neither add to the growing air pollution nor to the noise pollution", Nalin says. But some section of people argue that rickshaws should be banned on the ground that it is ‘inhuman’ on the part of a human to pull the weight of his fellow human beings.
Source: Press Trust of India, New Delhi, September 5, 2006.

Traffic chokes city, govt looks at congestion tax: It’s considered the fast route to decongest the streets of a metropolis. London has it, so does Stockholm and Singapore. Mumbai may be next. Five to seven years from now, motorists here may find themselves paying a price for the privilege of driving into the business districts such as Fort and Nariman Point. The state government has now asked a foreign consultancy undertaking a traffic survey of Mumbai, to examine the idea of imposing a vehicle congestion tax in the city. Congestion tax for business districts has been talked about for over a decade by planners, but it was only recently that the state took a decision to examine its viability. “Consultants Lea Associates of Canada have been asked to include it as part of their brief when they plan a transport model for the city,’’ sources said. Congestion tax works on the principle of taxing motorists so as to encourage public modes of transport like buses and trains in a city choked by traffic snarls and pollution levels. The tax on driving cars into commercial areas — it has been found worldwide — discourages undue use of private vehicles. The tax has been in use in Singapore for over three decades; in London it was introduced more recently.
Source: The Times of India, Mumbai, September 8, 2006.

Rs 1,000 cr is How much city loses at red lights annually: Delhi loses more than Rs 1,000 crore each year as vehicles idle at traffic lights, according to a study by the Central Road Research Institute (CRRI). Moreover, the average vehicle speed in the Capital is down to a crawl, with no more than 15-18 km per hour possible on most busy roads, including the arterial Ring Road. S Gangopadhyay, head of the Traffic & Transportation Division, CRRI, said: “We conducted a study on 12 busy intersections in the city. Spread over three months, the study instituted by the Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA) has revealed that Delhi loses some Rs 1,000 crore due to idling of vehicles at intersections. (As much as) 3,311 lakh litres of fuel is wasted in the process in a year.” The PCRA falls under the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas. Earlier this year, CRRI carried out studies at various intersections, including the Paharganj crossing near New Delhi railway station, at the PCRA’s behest. “The study was done at 12 intersections ranging from Moolchand, Ashram in south Delhi to Azadpur in north Delhi, Gazipur in the east and Paschim Vihar in west Delhi. We had three classifications of intersections as per traffic volume — high volume, medium volume and low volume — for a comprehensive representation of the city,” said Gangopadhyay.
Source: The Indian Express, New Delhi, September 12, 2006.

Tax gas-guzzlers: Petro panel: An expert panel constituted by the Petroleum Ministry has suggested that additional excise duty be levied as penalty on automobiles that guzzle petrol and diesel. “Relatively inefficient cars — those with a composite fuel economy rating below the average — may be subjected to a Gas Guzzler Tax,” says the Sub-Group on Refining whose report is to be considered by the Working Group on Petroleum & Natural Gas while finalising the 11th Five Year Plan (2007-12). The sub-group has suggested that fuel economy standards be averaged and set for each category of cars, two-wheelers and commercial vehicles. And within each segment, each brand would be compared with the average with those below the mark charged extra excise duty as Gas Guzzler Tax.
Source: Indian Express, New Delhi, September 7, 2006.

Provision for cyclists, pedestrians must to get NURM funds: Life will be much smoother for pedestrians and cyclists on city roads by 2007. Thanks to a condition laid down by the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (JNURM), municipal authorities in these cities have agreed to include cyclists’ lanes and footpaths in all future road infrastructure revamp schemes. Failing to follow this dictat will mean no funds for upgradation of urban infrastructure. If cities like Ahmedabad and Delhi are keen to get funds from the Centre for urban infrastructure revamp, the municipal authorities will have to make provisions for pedestrians and cyclists on roads.
Source: The Times of India, Ahmedabad, September 4, 2006.

700 new low-floor buses for city buses are entirely disabled-friendly, says Transport Minister Haroon Yusuf: THIS is one transport department project, which has taken off, on schedule. The State Transport Authority (STA) has finally given the go-ahead to a fleet of modern low-floor buses for the Capital. And what’s more, bulk orders are being placed for a bigger fleet including air-conditioned buses. The STA today cleared the purchase of 700 new buses, ahead of the 2010 Commonwealth Games. “We have granted approval for purchase of the new buses for Delhi. These will be low-floor buses, which are very passenger-friendly. They will also be completely disabled-friendly”, said Haroon Yusuf, Minister for Transport.
Source: Express News Service, New Delhi, September 12, 2006.

Karachi: Need stressed to revamp public transport system: Speakers at a workshop here on Wednesday urged the government to formulate policies afresh on environment and transport so as to give Karachi an efficient and environment-friendly public transport system. The workshop on "national urban air quality and integrated transport management" was organized by the IUCN and Clean Air Initiatives for Asian Cities, in collaboration with the EPA, the ADB and the World Bank. State minister for environment Malik Amin Aslam said mounting ratio of environmental pollution had endangered rapid economic growth as about six per cent of the GDP was being spent on issues caused by environmental pollution which had two to three per cent some time back. He said a fund of Rs 20 billion had been earmarked for a five-year comprehensive plan to upgrade environment while Rs 5 billion had been earmarked in the current budget for tackling environmental issues.
Source: Dawn, Karachi, September 13, 2006.

Air pollution in the city: Reportedly, air pollution in Dhaka city still afflict, on an average, 150,000 people every year. The figures point to the acute necessity of further introducing and enforcing existing rules and regulations against air pollution for reducing the number who get exposed to this form of pollution. There is no way to look slightly at the pollution-related costs. The number of physical sufferers from pollution who need treatment are rising in spite of the recent successful withdrawal of the most polluting three-wheelers from Dhaka's metropolitan areas. There is an urgent need to take follow-up steps for similar withdrawal or decommissioning of aged buses and trucks that seem to be eluding official instructions through repainting to look younger and managing papers from the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) to the effect that they are still roadworthy.
Source: Financial Express