Yet another CNG bus blows up in the Capital and both the Delhi and the concerned central ministries remain quiet. They don't have any plan of action to offer for safety inspection or make manufacturers liable.

NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 11, 2001: Centre for Science and Environment is shocked at the recent incidents of bus fires - consecutively four episodes within a short span of three months, and the silent government. Obsessed only with the desire to discredit CNG technology the official agencies forgot to do their own bit. Except for the standard promise of setting up yet another committee to investigate the matter, they have no plans to enforce safety compliance standards and establish accountability. Even the findings of the earlier committee reports on fire incidents have been suppressed.

No provisions have been made for the inspection of buses whereby each and every CNG bus undergoes inspection of the engine and high-pressure fuel storage and piping systems before being allowed onto the road - this is a norm in the rest of the world.

The government has completely ignored the need for clear guidelines for installation, fitting and bus body fabrication. While the government does not admit its own lapse, it along with the manufacturers, conveniently puts the entire blame on the bus body builders. Official silence is only shielding the bus manufacturer who should have taken the greater responsibility in ensuring that the bus body builders are trained to handle fitting and installation that need special attention during body fabrication. Technical guidelines are needed for routing of pipes, minimising friction, vibration and so forth.

Some weaknesses were also exposed in the engineering systems when CSE conducted an independent assessment of the CNG technology and regulations with the help of international experts. In the production of the chassis, there is still room for improvement in areas such as: material of the high-pressure piping, fixing of pipes to the chassis, tightening of the couplings, venting of the pressure relief valve, and inspection of gas pipes. Ideally, conventional ignition systems with mechanical distributor should be replaced with electronic distributor less ignition systems to eliminate high-voltage wires. The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways should integrate these concerns in their safety rules for manufacturers.

CSE demands that without losing any more time the government must immediately begin a safety inspection programme and issue proper guidelines for installation and fittings of CNG buses. All CNG buses must undergo an inspection of the engine and high-pressure fuel storage system before being allowed on road and subsequently periodically for safety compliance. At the same time the bus manufacturers should be made liable for installations and fittings during body fabrication. It is not CNG technology that is unsafe, ignoring safety rules is.