Tax Concessions of LPG-run Vehicles Promissed
The Chief Minister,
Mr.N.Chandrababu Naidu, has promised sales tax and road tax concessions on LPG-run
vehicles after they are legalised by the Centre through an amendment to the Motor Vehicles
Act, pending before Parliament.
Launching the Shakti Gas Autokit Pilot Project here on Saturday, the Chief
Minister favoured extensive use of LPG for motor vehicles and offered to use his good
offices with the centre in getting the legal sancity for operation of these vehicles.
Under the pilot project, autorickshaws, fitted with the gas kits have been
allowed to pay for 90 days days by the Andhra Pradesh High Court and the State Government
agencies have accorded the necessary permission.
The Chief Minister flagged off a fleet of 10 autorickshaws and was pleased
to note that they emitted neither the polluting gases nor sound. They would contribute
greatly to control the air pollution which had reached alarming proportions in the cities,
he said.
Mr.Bandaru
Dattatreya, Union Minister of State for Urban Development, also promised to bring pressure
on the Prime Minister in regard amendment to the MV Act to legalise operation of
LPG-driven vehicles. The Union Minister said while the corporate firms were making huge
money, the Governments at the Centre and in the States were losing heavily on all their
activities resulting huge budgetary deficits.He said he would tie up financial assistance
from a foreign funding agency for the Light Rail Transport System for Hyderabad and urged
the Chief Minister to send the project report to the Centre expeditiously.
The Chief Minister commented the Shri Shakti Group for its pioneering work
in developing the kit for use of LPG for the three wheelers, which has been certified by
the Automotive Research Association of India(ARAI) and the Vehicular Research Developement
Establishment(VRDE), the statutory certifying authorities.
Mr.Naidu strongly pleaded against the Government entering business and if
successful technocrats were asked to work in the Government, "they will simply run
away". He voiced concern over the growing pollution hazard in Hyderabad, especially
the pollution caused by vehicles, whose number had jumped up from 89,115 in 1980 to 9.50
lakh in 1999. The number of autorickshwas alone went up from 6926 to 45,000. He also
commented the Singapore experiment of encouraging public transport by making private
transport costlier in order to control pollution.
The Chief Minister, referring to the visit of American President, Mr.Bill
Clinton to Hyderabad on March 24, said it was an acknowledge of the leading role being
played by the city in the field of information technology.
Mr.D.V.Manohar,
Chairman of the Shri Shakti Group, gave a video presentation of the spectacular
growth of the company from a modest one lakh investment to a Rs.500-crore group in a span
of 25years.The Transport Minister, Mr.B.V.Mohan Reddy, said the Government was taking
concrete measures for pollution control.
The Chief Minister
felicitated the key figures of Shri Shakti Group.Mr.B.K.Bakshi, president of the Shri
Shakti LPG Limited, proposed a vote of thanks.
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