By IANS,
Agartala : Deciding to “go green”, the Tripura capital will now issue permits only to compressed natural gas (CNG) run vehicles to ply on its streets, an official said Wednesday.
Already the “green fuel” is planned to be supplied across the city: CNG to units that use electricity, petrol and diesel to run machineries, and petroleum natural gas (PNG) or piped gas to households, hospitals, schools and colleges, and crematoria.
The measures, the official said, would make Agartala “India’s first green city”.
“From now onwards, all passenger vehicles and autorickshaws in Agartala and its outskirts would be given permit with only CNG-run system,” Tripura Natural Gas Company Ltd (TNGCL) chairman Pabitra Kar told reporters at the inauguration of a CNG station at Abhoynagar on the outskirts of the capital city.
State Industries and Commerce Minister Jitendra Choudhury inaugurated the station.
Currently, 2,800 vehicles here, including autorickshaws, are being run on CNG instead of petrol and diesel, said Kar.
CNG will also be available to those using electricity, petrol and diesel to run various machineries, he said.
TNGCL, a joint venture of the GAIL (India) Limited and the Tripura and Assam governments, has been supplying petroleum natural gas (PNG) or piped gas to around 9,000 households.
PNG is also supplied to 205 commercial establishments and industrial units in Agartala and its outskirts besides to hospitals, educational institutions and crematorium.
“The number of PNG domestic consumers would be increased to around 20,000 by the next five years,” Kar said.
To develop necessary infrastructure for CNG and PNG, the TNGCL is all set to execute a Rs.57 crore business plan within the next five years, said the company managing director M.C. Deogam.
TNGCL transports, sells and distributes natural gas as PNG and CNG through underground pipeline network in Agartala and its outskirts.