AAP govt lifts ban on retrofitting CNG kits

‘Delhi is first to make entire process digital to eliminate possibility of spurious kits entering market’

THE DELHI government Friday revoked its ban on retrofitting CNG kits in cars in use, while becoming the first state to digitise the entire end-to-end process from sale to purchase - to eliminate the possibility of spurious kits entering the market.

A transport department notification stated, “NIC (National Informatics Centre) has developed a software whereby information relating to CNG kits being supplied by manufacturers and importers to distributors and retro-fitment centres for fitment in new and in-use vehicles can be captured.”

In June, the Delhi government suspended registration of vehicles retrofitted with CNG kits, except for factory-fit models sold by manufacturers. The step was taken after the government received complaints about vehicles being fitted with substandard kits and the transport department registering thousands of retrofitted vehicles without checking them properly. The action was also based on reports of spurious and cheaper kits being fit in hundreds of petrol vehicles opting for conversion to CNG. In August, the government relaxed the ban for car manufacturers to retrofit in-use cars with CNG kits. Earlier this week, Transport Minister Satyendar Jain had told Cng-kit manufacturers and retrofitting centre owners the ban would be revoked soon.

According to government sources, about 2,000 cars with CNG kits have not been endorsed since the ban was imposed. In the transport department notification, Deputy Commissioner (Operations) S S Chauhan said all manufacturers and importers had been provided IDS and passwords, for the software created by NIC, on their transport portal Vahan 4. Delhi is the first state in the country to get a software designed for Cng-kit fitting and registrations, said government officials.

The notification asks all manufacturers and importers, 14 in all, to upload on the site details of approval certificate for the specified type of CNG kit and scanned images of components submitted to designated testing agencies. The manufacturers and importers have also been asked to submit a list of distributors and retrofitting centres to whom they supply CNG kits. Earlier, the government had no list of authorised distributors.

“After all the required information has been provided, and the database updated, the endorsement of kits will be done in the Burari authority. We expect to begin endorsing the kits by Friday next week,” said a transport official.