Explanation:

The state government has announced that the Rajasthan Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) policy 2022 will be implemented soon.

According to the concerned officials from the pollution control wing of the state transport and road safety department, after going through the feedback, the state government will work towards implementation of the policy, which will help in reducing air pollution in the cities by moving to a cleaner fuel.

The policy aims to control vehicular pollution by promoting CNG as an eco-friendly fuel and highlights special provisions for non-attainment cities or smart cities of Rajasthan.

The policy is needed as the ambient air quality of our cities have been deteriorating gradually.

In 2020, the ambient air quality of Jaipur was moderate but now it is poor. Similarly, the ambient air quality for other prominent cities or towns is moderate in the state at present, which may turn into poor in the coming few years given the rising pollution levels in the state.

For transition towards CNG and having proper infrastructure, the draft policy had recommended provisions like; diesel vehicles older than 10 years can be provided five years of extension on retrofitment of CNG, facilitation from the transport department for new CNG vehicles/conversion of vehicles from alternate fuels to CNG by having dedicated window, issue of registration certificate and approval of CNG RFCs in defined time.

The policy further recommends that city transport corporations be advised or permitted to set up CNG stations on their access land parcels with relaxation of NOCs from the district magistrate.