Aurangabad, Nov 23 (PTI) Public transport buses and vehicles being used for official purposes by Aurangabad Smart City Development Corporation and Aurangabad Municipal Corporation will shift to alternate fuel to reduce carbon emissions, civic chief Astik Kumar Pandey said on Tuesday.

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Speaking at a sensitization-cum-review workshop in Mumbai, he said the civic body had also planned to increase the green cover of Aurangabad, which is spread over 172 square kilometres and has a population of around 20 lakh, from the current 4 per cent.

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He said 1.76 lakh saplings have been planted on 180 spots made free of encroachment as part of efforts to increase green cover.

"We are planning to procure 50 electric buses, of which five will come by next month. A total of 100 buses will be retrofitted to run on biodiesel and electricity. Crematoriums in the city will be wood-free soon as briquettes (compress charcoal blocks) will be used," he added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)