In a move to encourage consumption of compressed natural gas (CNG) in Mumbai and its neighbouring areas, Mahanagar Gas Limited (MGL) will be giving free life insurance cover to those taxi and rickshaw drivers who use CNG.
The Mahasuraksha Yojana will be launched by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at Ravindra Natya Mandir this evening. Managing Director of MGL AK Purvaha said the project is aimed at cleaning up the environment.
We want to reduce pollution and encourage more people to use vehicles that run on CNG, said Union Petroleum Minister Murli Deora.
Purvaha said that the scheme is not only applicable for Mumbai but even in neighbouring cities which have CNG filling stations.
Though he refused to divulge the premium amount, he said that MGL has tied up with ICICI Lombard to launch the project. In case of a fatal accident, a taxi or a rickshaw drivers family would get upto Rs 1 lakh as insurance.
Approximately 2.25 lakh taxi and rickshaw drivers would benefit from this scheme. Currently, there are 1,70,000 vehicles running on CNG in Mumbai and neighbouring areas.
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