Green tribunal’s CNG order puts Haryana in quandary
The National Green Tribunal’s direction on Friday to Haryana and three of its neighbouring states warning them of halting roadways transport if they failed to introduce CNG engines has put Haryana in a piquant situation.
The NGT held that the bulk of particulate matter inhaled by Delhi residents emanated from Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.
Haryana has not taken any significant step to introduce CNG (compressed natural gas) stations. Barring Faridabad, Gurgaon, Sonepat and Rohtak, there is no CNG pump in the rest of the 17 districts.
The condition of these pumps too is worrying as they go dry within hours and fail to fulfill the demand for the fuel.
In Rohtak, the pump has the capacity to deliver only 1,600 kg gas in a day.. During the four-hour time that it operates every morning, vehicles pile up to a kilometre waiting for their turn.
“We get more than 600-1,000 vehicles every day. Around half of them have to return empty-handed after waiting for hours as CNG takes time to get filled and we fall short of fuel,” outlet manager Pawan Kumar said.
The CNG pump was launched with much fanfare, attracting motorists from neighbouring districts of Jind, Bhiwani and Hisar, who earlier had to go to Delhi for refilling their cars. People now say the outlet is more trouble. While the CNG rate in Delhi is Rs 36.50 per kg, people have to shell out Rs 52.60 per kg in Rohtak.
“Going to Delhi means burning extra fuel and paying at the toll plaza. So we come here. But it is disappointing. We end up wasting more time and there is no guarantee that one gets fuel here,” said Rahul Makkar, a teacher who commutes from Rohtak to Hisar.
While outlets in Delhi ensure proper safety gear for their workers, in Rohtak the workers have not even been issued basic instructions. “Even the pollution certificate we get in Rohtak is fake. They don’t conduct any test and give a default certificate to all vehicles for money. These certificates may not even work in Delhi,” said VinodOberoi, an engineer.
HT had earlier reported that in Gurgaon, the demand for CNG falls short of 50,000 kg fuel per day.
