Most vehicles clear test for adulterated diesel
Delhi anti-pollution body will stop collecting samples from vehicles, will now focus on fuel stations
NEW DELHI: More than half the fuel samples collected by the Delhi government from vehicles plying in the city have passed fuel adulteration tests, senior officials in the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) said on Saturday. The findings of the test put the government in a fix, after which it has now started collecting diesel samples directly from fuel stations instead of random vehicles, to check possible adulteration using kerosene.
According to data provided by the DPCC, the joint teams collected as many as 245 samples from different vehicles. Till now, test results of 126 of the 245 samples have been received by the pollution control body and none of were found to be spiked with kerosene.
Joint teams of the state transport department and DPCC had launched a drive on November 16 after the Supreme Court earlier this month said there are complaints that some vehicles are plying illegally by mixing kerosene oil in diesel in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR), thus emitting noxious gases and smoke.
Initiating an intensive crackdown, the joint teams had started catching visibly polluting vehicles (those emitting too much smoke) and collected fuel samples for possible adulteration, apart from prosecuting and impounding them. The crackdown, mostly on commercial vehicles such as trucks, buses, taxis and tempos, also included violations on the count of not having valid pollution-under-control (PUC) certificates.
“However, the results of more than 100 samples have already arrived now, and all were found to be unadulterated diesel. So for now, we have stopped collecting samples from vehicles but the usual action against polluting vehicles continues. Test results of 119 other samples are still awaited,” said a senior DPCC official.
Another DPCC official said the government has now started collecting fuel samples directly from the fuel stations, instead of from vehicles plying on roads. “The food and supplies department, which is the nodal agency for all petrol and diesel stations in Delhi, has already sent 50 samples to two laboratories for testing,” the official said.
When asked, the food and supplies department of the Delhi government confirmed it is awaiting test results of samples picked from 50 different fuels stations collected from across the city.
Transporters in the national Capital, who had earlier called the drive by the DPCC and the transport department “unfair”, said their objections to the approach of the government on the issue was “vindicated”.
“We have been saying from the first day of this drive that collecting samples from vehicles will be a futile act. No truck, taxi or bus owner will voluntarily mix kerosene oil in diesel, as it only worsens the health of a vehicle. We had said the crackdown should instead be conducted on fuel stations, and petrol and diesel companies should be held accountable. We take fuel from these pumps only,” said Harish Sabharwal, chairman, United Front of Transport Associations (UFTA).
For now, we have stopped collecting samples from vehicles, but action against polluting vehicles will continue. The test results of 119 more samples are awaited.
DPCC OFFICIAL
126
Samples have been given the clean chit, with no adulteration 119 Results of samples awaited
Samples sent for testing since November 26
The focus is now on fuel stations, instead of collecting samples from random vehicles
Till now, samples have been collected from 50 different fuel stations in Delhi The test result of samples are awaited by the state food and supplies department, which is the nodal agency of fuel stations in the city
Many dealers resort to mixing kerosene in diesel because of the high price difference between the two fuels. At present, diesel is sold in Delhi at around ~65.79 per litre, while kerosene is priced at less than ₹50 in the open market for industrial activities. Delhi was declared a kerosene-free city in 2014. However, UP and Rajasthan still use the fuel in their public distribution system, at rates of less than ~20 per litre.
Vehicular pollution accounts for 28% of all pollution in Delhi. Kerosene is more difficult to burn than gasoline and results in increase of emissions in terms of carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen and particulate matter.