Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government today urged the Centre to set up CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) stations in the state to reduce air pollution.
In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said
“As vehicular emission contributes to air pollution significantly, the Odisha government is keen to set up CNG stations to facilitate motorized vehicles run on CNG fuels thereby reducing pollution caused by such emissions,” Patnaik pointed out.
Stating that availability of Natural Gas and pipeline infrastructure are pre-requisites for establishment of CNG stations, he said though the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board have granted authorization to GAIL India Ltd for laying, building, operating and expanding Natural Gas Pipelines along the Surat-Paradip route under Petroleum & Natural Gas Regulations, 2008, no significant progress has been made so far in this regard.
On the other hand, H-Energy Pvt Ltd has submitted an expression of interest (EoI) to the Petroleum and Natural Gas ministry for laying, building and operating a Natural Gas Pipeline on the Contai-Paradip-Dattapulia route, he added.
Drawing the attention of the Prime Minister, Patnaik said since more than 27,000 auto-rickshaws are plying in the state capital alone apart from other categories of vehicles, vehicular pollution will reduce considerably if these vehicles are retrofitted to run on CNG. The same can also be extended to town buses.
He requested the Prime Minister to look into the matter and direct the Petroleum & Natural Gas ministry to take suitable action to ensure availability of natural gas, pipeline infrastructure and establishment of CNG stations in the state at the earliest for which the state government would facilitate setting up of such stations.