What all other metros did yesterday, Calcutta is loath to do tomorrow.

“Conversion to clean fuel has taken place in most cities. Two-stroke autos are the most polluting as they have poor combustion efficiency. They should be completely phased out,” Bhure Lal told Metro on Monday evening.

Why should Bhure Lal’s opinion count? The Delhi-based retired bureaucrat headed the Supreme Court-appointed Environment Pollution Control Authority panel monitoring the clean-air programme in eight cities.

The Bhure Lal committee — which did not cover Calcutta and Mumbai because separate clean-air cases were on at the two high courts — has allowed conversion of two-stroke autos to LPG or CNG in some cities provided they meet the age limit.

But most two-stroke autos in Calcutta are over 15 years old, and many close to 30 years. So, conversion is not the answer in Calcutta where the high court has ordered the banning of all two-stroke autos from January 1, 2009.

Metro explores what Delhi and Mumbai have done with their autorickshaws in order to help people breathe easy.

DELHI DRIVE

In July 1998, the Supreme Court ordered that old autorickshaws be phased out and replaced with vehicles that would run only on CNG.

The order stated that by December 31, 2000, all pre-1990 autorickshaws must cease to ply on Delhi roads. It directed that post-1990 autorickshaws must be phased out completely by end-2002.

The Delhi government — piloted by the transport department — met both deadlines.

On May 1, 2002, the Delhi government banned the registration of any new two-stroke auto. Delhi now has close to 80,000 autos. “Almost all are today running on four-stroke engines, as the old ones have been phased out,” said Anumita Roychowdhury, the associate director of Centre for Science and Environment, which had moved the PIL that brought about the landmark apex court judgment.

What did the transport department in Delhi do that Subhas Chakraborty and Co. have not? It was part of the Bhure Lal committee, it launched a scheme of subsidised loans to help owners purchase new autos fitted with CNG engines, it ensured during registration that an auto had a four-stroke engine running on CNG, it conducted regular checks to ensure that engine norms and emission parameters are met.

The cooperation of autorickshaw drivers and their unions was critical to the phasing out of old autos and conversion to CNG. The subsidised loans that helped soften the financial blow for owners junking old autos played a big part.

MUMBAI MODEL

On October 17, 2001, Bombay High Court issued orders to phase out autos 15 years and above and conversion of the rest to LPG/CNG. The auto and taxi unions fought a legal battle till 2004.

According to Shankar Salvi, the general secretary of the Mumbai Autorickshawmen and Taximen's Union, there are about one lakh autos in Mumbai, and nearly 95 per cent of them have converted to LPG/CNG.

The Regional Transport Office has played a key role in implementing and monitoring the clean-air programme. If any violations are found, the CNG/LPG kits are not approved for fitting. If any vehicle is found operating without the specific alterations, officials can slam the vehicles for moving without registration.

Auto unions played a key role in negotiating the implementation of the conversion process.