Tamil Nadu

Fuel efficiency drive pays off

K.N.Nehru

CHENNAI: Fuel efficiency measures taken by the Government have started yielding rich dividends, with the savings from the State Transport Corporation’s fleet alone grossing Rs.79 lakh a day, Transport Minister K. N. Nehru said on Thursday.

Launching ‘Oil and Gas Conservation Fortnight 2008,’ organised by PSU oil companies and the Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA), he said the success was due to the sensitisation of drivers and conductors of the Corporation, which plies 1.80 crore passengers in its 19,000-strong fleet every day.

As a result of the fuel efficiency drive, the average mileage of the fleet increased to 5.3 km a litre of diesel. The fleet in most depots across the State clocked a mileage in the range of 4.94 km to 5.21 km per litre of diesel.

The Corporation’s new fleet of 6,000 eco-friendly buses had already earned fuel savings to the tune of Rs.70 crore, he said.

M. Nageswaran, general manager, Indian Oil Corporation (southern region), and Regional Level Coordinator for Oil Industry, southern region, pointed to the mounting oil import bill that stood at Rs.2.50 lakh crore for 2007-08. It was likely to shoot up to Rs.3 lakh crore the next fiscal and leave an even bigger impact on the country’s finance.

Given the magnitude of expenditure, even a five per cent saving through fuel efficiency measures would mean a substantial amount of money which could be diverted for development, Mr. Nageswaran said.

Apart from the vehicle sector, every household needed to contribute to the saving of fuel by adopting the right cooking methods.

Deepak Pandya, State-level coordinator for the oil industry, southern region, and V. Sivakumar, director, PCRA, participated.

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