Delhi gets more time to clean up

Critics say there are not enough CNG outlets

The Supreme Court in India has extended a deadline for public transport in the capital, Delhi, to switch to cleaner fuel.

The court has been at the forefront of efforts to clean up the air in Delhi, one of the most polluted cities in the world.

The latest deadline was due to expire on Thursday, even though most of Delhi's buses still run on diesel, rather than the cleaner compressed natural gas (CNG).

It has now been extended to 31 January, 2002.

Public protests

There have been a number of strikes involving buses, taxis and rickshaws in Delhi protesting against the ruling.

Protests sometimes turned violent

Although CNG is considerably cheaper than gasoline and diesel, only one company in Delhi is licensed to sell it.

And transport leaders complain there are not enough outlets.

As a result, the 50,000 taxis and auto-rickshaws in Delhi, most of which have converted to CNG, face lengthy queues to refuel.

Most of Delhi's 12,000 buses still run on diesel.

Monthly reports

In the Supreme Court's ruling on Thursday, it ordered the Delhi authorities to begin phasing out those diesel fule buses which are allowed to operate on special permits.

The permits were given to bus owners who promised to convert to CNG.

And in a sign of the court's impatience, it instructed the Delhi authorities to submit monthly progress reports on how the process is going.

Delhi has been reduced to chaos on a number of occasions this year by transport strikes in protest against the enforced fuel conversion.

Last year, the Supreme Court ordered hundreds of polluting factories in the capital to relocate, despite violent protests.