Chief minister Nitish Kumar on Monday ordered officials to investigate whether autorickshaws were being run on kerosene or a mixture of kerosene, petrol and diesel in the city.

His direction followed complaints received at the Lok Samvad (public dialogue or interaction) programme.

The concoction of the fuels not only leads to pollution but also points at corruption.

"It should be probed whether bigger autorickshaws are running on fuel mixed with kerosene, which is not available in the open market. It should be investigated how kerosene is available, as it can be procured only through cards (below poverty line, above poverty line cards) and public distribution system and is meant for the poor," Nitish said.

Nitish's directions came after Madhusudan Kumar Sinha, an additional secretary working in the Legislative Council and a resident of Patel Nagar, lodged a complaint and pointed out that it led to severe air pollution in the state capital, which has a population of around 20 lakh.

Madhusudan added that mostly bigger autorickshaws, popularly known as Vikram, which ply between Patna and Danapur ran on kerosene. He also suggested that the Patna Municipal Corporation should be divided into three parts headed by a separate administrator for each. "One part would look after sanitation and cleanliness, while the other two parts of PMC could look after passing building plans and tax collection, respectively," Madhusudan added.

The Lok Samvad programme, started by Nitish since December and held on first three Mondays of every month, has seen a trend of people narrating problems and suggestions on civic amenities, and today was no exception. A majority of them came from Patna residents for it scores poorly on public amenities, sanitation and other civic facilities.

Ranjeet Kumar from Kankerbagh suggested that boards be put up on all roads to depict their width as well as dimensions of drains and footpaths. This would help people understand the actual size of roads and resist encroachments.

"The actual level of roads should be maintained because fresh constructions lead to rise in their level. This relegates houses to a lower level in their comparison and leads to a variety of problems," Ranjeet added.

A couple of people raised the issue of sewage being emptied out into the Ganga. They suggested that Nitish take measures like setting up sewage treatment plants and nets to resolve the issue. The chief minister directed a chief secretary-level review meeting of the drainage system and release of water into the river.