Converting diesel engines to CNG too expensive, say Gurgaon cab operators

Gorav of Rainbow Travels in Gurgaon, who runs a fleet of luxury cabs for corporate houses, said, “We started converting to diesel 15 years ago as it was cost-effective. Now, switching to CNG would mean changing the entire engine. How will cars such as Innova, Xylo run on CNG?”

Many operators are also worried about the high cost of retrofitting CNG engines as there are no certified companies providing such services. “Even in local garages, where conversions are done by untrained personnel, it could cost between Rs 80,000 and Rs 1 lakh. We also do not know if converting diesel to CNG would yield the same results… it will ultimately put an additional cost burden on the customer,” said another cab operator who has a fleet of 100 cabs.

Lack of CNG pumps in the city is another reason why transporters feel the SC order cannot be implemented. According to official figures, Gurgaon has nearly 50,000 CNG vehicles and just four CNG stations in sectors 22, 29, 44 and 53.

There is a fifth one at the bus depot meant exclusively for buses. All stations remain open 24×7. On an average, the stations cater to as many as 25,000 cars, 6,500 autos and 1,500 buses, said an official from the Road Transport Authority.

“More CNG vehicles would mean the existing infrastructure would be crushed. It would also lead to serpentine queues at the stations. The administration is not ready to cater to so many CNG vehicles,” said an official.

Even though the Gurgaon administration has stopped registration of new diesel vehicles and issuing fitness certificates to existing ones, a senior official said that “internal industry sources revealed that manufacturers are not producing any CNG vehicles”.

Sources in the Gurgaon transport department added that no set procedures are being followed as far as phasing out the vehicles are concerned. “We have stopped registration of new diesel vehicles and issuing fitness certificates to existing vehicles. We will implement the SC order soon,” said T L Satyaprakash, Deputy Commissioner, Gurgaon.