LPG as fuel in motor vehicles notified

By M. Malleswara Rao

HYDERABAD, SEPT. 28. In line with the Central order issued recently, the State Government has notified liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for being used in motor vehicles as fuel, like petrol and diesel.

But, the public have to wait for some more time to get the required permission for engine conversion to LPG as rules are still being framed by the Centre under the new Motor Vehicles Act, 2000 which amended Section 52 of the original Act providing for inclusion of LPG in the list of other fuels which could be used for motor vehicles as substitutes to petrol and diesel. The other fuels are compressed natural gas (CNG), battery and solar power.

According to Mr. V. Malyadri, Transport Commissioner, RTA, permission is must for conversion but it will be given only after the Centre frames the rules, amending the Gas Cylinder Rules and repeals the LPG Control Order, 1974. This has to be done because of the change to LPG use, from cooking medium to motor vehicle fuel.

Under the other contents of the Central order, the State Government has banned with immediate effect any alteration to vehicles or replacement of original petrol engines by diesel engines like MBC, Isuzu, Toyota and Datsun which are normally purchased at junk markets in Mumbai or Guntur. Similarly, it has also prohibited conversion of "goods vehicles" into "passenger category" and vice versa apart from alteration being done to tyres for higher GVW (gross vehicle weight), a malpractice being indulged in by operators resulting in damage to the public roads.

As provided under the Central order, a new rule has come into force with immediate effect, ending the exemption given to school buses. The rule stipulates that education institutions should also get permits hereafter, paying the prescribed fee at the RTA concerned. The Central order incorporated this provision to ensure safety of schoolchildren travelling in the bus, following a Supreme Court directive issued in the light of the ghastly accident in which a school bus plunged into the Yamuna at Delhi, killing 32 children. What ensures safety under the permits is that the operators have to follow certain strict terms laid down therein, says Mr. C.L.N. Gandhi, Secretary, RTA, Hyderabad.

The Transport Department has also taken a decision not to allow alternation to vehicles, being indulged in by owners/operators for making the vehicles eligible for life-time tax and free them from quarterly payments. Earlier, an unladen vehicle, weighing less than 2,286 kg and having seven seats, including the one meant for driver, was eligible for life-time tax. With a view to avoiding life-time tax, operators used to take away extra seats, limiting the seating capacity to seven, and removed some parts to achieve the required weight and the department accepted such claims after physical verification. Now, no alteration will be accepted to the original body. The department has also banned conversion of discarded RTC buses into lorries.

The State Government order has retained the five-year road tax exemption from the date of registration allowed in case of vehicles run on the three identified "eco-friendly" fuels--CNG, battery and solar power. No one came forward to take advantage of the benefit during the past few years. Mr. Malyadri says there is plenty of CNG and LNG (liquid natural gas) in the State which is richly endowed with natural gas wells in East Godavari belt but yet, people are not able to put them into productive use due to the absence of conversion and distribution system with storage facility from where the gas can be supplied to different points in the State. According to information, CNG is not being used anywhere except at BHEL where, it appears, an experiment has been made on two or three vehicles.

The second fuel making the vehicles eligible for tax exemption, that is battery, is not in sight. Its only user so far in the country is the Railways. Trolleys are run with this fuel on railway platforms. Sometime ago, Mr. N. Harikrishna, former Transport Minister, visited China for a study of "electric buses" said to be existing in that country, for introducing this "soundless and smokeless" vehicles on the Tirumala ghat road on an experimental basis. But, the RTC did not make the details of the trip available to public. As far as solar power is concerned, India is yet to see the vehicles run on this non-conventional and renewable energy. "It is a costly affair", says Mr. Malyadri.

The Commissioner suggests that the RTC which has a massive fleet of 19,000 buses as on date, can opt for any of these three fuels to be eligible for tax exemption and thus save crores of rupees instead of lamenting each time on "losses" due to hike in diesel price. It should activate its research and development wing, if any, to find out a solution with these fuels.

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