AUTO LPG AS AN ALTERNATIVE FUEL AND ITS PROSPECTS TO COMBAT AIR POLLUTION IN GUWAHATI CITY, ASSAM, INDIA

Abstract

Auto LPG is considered as an environment friendly fuel. Auto LPG powered cars emit less pollutants compared to the other conventional fuels by 15-20% less carbon dioxide (CO2) than their petrol- and diesel-motivated counterparts and emit virtually no nitrogen oxides (NOX) or particulate matter (PM). LPG is legal to use as an automobile fuel by Government of India by Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Regulation of use in Motor Vehicles Order, 2001 dated 1st August 2001 under instruction from the Hon’ble Supreme Court to reduce automobile pollution in Indian cities. There are more than 27 million Auto LPG vehicles in use around the world. In India, there are about 2.32 million vehicles running on Auto LPG in 2018 with 1300 filling stations in 500 cities. In Assam there are four refineries. At present Guwahati is considered as one of the most polluted city in India. So, Government policies and regulations is very mush essential to popularize auto LPG as an alternative fuel in Assam for improving the air quality as well as to combat climate change. In 2007, four numbers of Auto LPG dispensing stations were set up in Assam which is now in non-functional mode. In this paper a survey was conducted to analyze the awareness and extent of adoption and perception of Auto LPG in Guwahati City.