The Karnataka government is gearing up to ban two-stroke autorickshaws in Bangalore city in a bid to bring down rising pollution levels. A proposal in this connection has been sent to the environment and ecology department, Karnataka government sources said.

The move is seen as a boost to the sale of LPG-fitted autorickshaws as the state government has already made it mandatory that new autorickshaws be powered by LPG-driven, four-stroke engines.

The government’s decision comes after the Karnataka High Court issued directions to the State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) to control pollution levels in the state capital.

According to a presentation made by the state transport minister Ramalinga Reddy in the latest legislative session, around 30,000 two-stroke autos currently ply on Bangalore city roads.

It may be noted that the Karnataka government had, two years ago, announced that two-stroke engined autorickshaws were emitting a lot of smoke and made it mandatory for all new autorickshaws to run on LPG and have a four-stroke engine.

Since then Bangalore saw a growth in the numbers of new LPG-powered autorickshaws. This change was also helped with the government offering a subsidy of Rs 30,000 to autorickshaw owners to switch from two-stroke to four-stroke engined vehicles. However, at present, there are still 30,000 autorickshaws plying on two-stroke engines. This is primarily because autorickshaw unions are demanding an increase in the subsidy to Rs 50,000, citing increased costs for LPG, four-stroke engine vehicles.

Ramalinga Reddy said the government is considering hiking the existing subsidy levels but he did not specify the hike range and the timeframe.

As per estimates, there are about 113,000 three-wheelers in Bangalore with a majority of them already fitted with LPG and four-stroke engines.