Activities > CNG Vehicle Inspection (TPTI)

During the year 1998, the city of Delhi was labeled as one of the most polluted in the world. To overcome this alarming situation of high automobile pollution, the Govt. decided to change over from diesel to CNG fuel in all the public transport vehicles in Delhi. With the intervention of the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India, the entire public transport system in the city was switched over to CNG fuel mode in a record time and the vehicular pollution problem was almost brought under control. Safety of the newly inducted CNG buses became a matter of concern when in 2001-02 several CNG buses caught fire in quick succession. The Apex Court vide its direction dated 29.07.02, directed the Govt. of NCT of Delhi to ensure that all such buses conform the safety norms of GSR853(E) dtd. 19.11.01. To comply this, the Govt. looked for an expert body for carrying out Third Party safety inspections of CNG buses on their behalf. At the stage, Govt. of NCT of Delhi invited ASRTU in view of its required expertise and infrastructure. Accordingly, an agreement was signed between Govt. of NCT of Delhi and ASRTU in the month of September 2002. Thereafter the Third Party Technical Inspection (TPTI) of CNG buses came into existence for the first time in the country. Subsequently, in May 2003, A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between the two parties for extending the TPTI facility to all categories of CNG vehicles in Delhi.

The TPTI is conducted as per the enclosed checklist prescribed at Annex VII of AIS 024. The checklist contains two parts A and B. The first part is for verification of documents such as Registration Certificate, Type Approval Certificate and Installation Certificate etc. This verification work also includes physical confirmation of Chassis No., Engine No. and their make, model & capacity etc. viz a viz its registration certificate. Once the documents are found in order, the technical checking as per the Part B is conducted. In this part, component-wise safety checks as per the check list and also noting down of CNG Cylinder nos., make, capacity, validity of life and details of CNG related components are carried out. After completion of inspection, irrespective of the result, a certificate is issued to the Transport Department. For this purpose, a nominal fee is being collected from the vehicle owner.

For the safety checks, the approved methodology and such equipments to measure various requirements are used. The following equipments are used.

1. Methane Leak Detectors
2. Digital Calipers and Micrometers
3. Electric Multimeter, Continuity Tester, Battery Voltage Tester
4. Suitable Gauges to measure distances and thickness etc.
5. Torque wrenches and hand tools
6. Ultrasonic Thickness Measuring Machine

Beyond the safety norms, ASRTU also undertake the following activities in public interest.

- Creating awareness in the operators/crews by allowing them to witness the inspection activities and educating them regarding the safety procedures.
- Educating them on the operation of CNG components and Do's/Dont's at the emergencies.
- Verification of validity of Department of Explosive certificates of CNG cylinders ensures use of authentic and tested cylinders in the vehicles. Further, the owner of the vehicle is informed of the expiry date so that CNG cylinders can be re-tested in time.

A detailed statement, showing the total no. of inspections and No. of vehicles failed due to not meeting the safety norms during the year 2004-2005, is placed below.

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