Indore administration to promote use of `green fuels' in local factories

Indore: The Indore district administration on Tuesday decided that the use of green fuels instead of coal will be ensured in local factories to improve the city's air quality.

In a meeting about measures to be taken to improve the air quality, District Collector Ashish Singh directed the administrative staff to conduct a survey of industrial units running on coal, and ensure that they use natural gas and other green fuels.

The use of coal in industry is a major cause of air pollution in Indore, otherwise ranked as the country's cleanest city for many years, officials said.

The District Magistrate also discussed possible shifting of furniture manufacturing units out of the city.

Sudhir Gore, communications officer of Clean Air Catalyst, a global alliance working to improve air quality, told PTI that although promoting the use of green fuels is a good step, effective steps should also be taken to stop the severe air pollution caused by vehicles.

"Vehicular pollution and road dust have a 70 percent share in the deteriorating air quality in Indore. Industrial pollution contributes 11 percent to this and pollution caused by cooking of food using fuels such as coal, wood and cow dung cakes contributes 10 percent," he said.