on january 20, 2004, the Indian government announced its revised urea policy. The regulations, given the green signal by the cabinet committee on economic affairs, mainly entail urea units to use feedstock (fuel) of natural gas (ng) or liquefied natural gas (lng). The fertiliser industry has welcomed the development since ng is the cheapest feedstock of the urea sector. Sixty per cent of the country's 30 urea plants are already based on ng. Thirty per cent use naphtha, and only four run on fuel oil/low sulphur heavy stock (fo/lshs).

Such a glaring reality notwithstanding, officials claim the regulations will have a significant environmental impact. " ng/lng are cleaner fuels than naphtha or fo/lshs. Moreover, its use will help save natural resources, as less amounts of ng/lng are required for urea production,' states S P S Tomar, section officer at the department of fertilizers.

But as per environmentalists, the policy highlights the narrow vision of the government towards cleaner fuels like ng. So observes the Supreme Court (sc), in its order of April 5, 2002: "Overwhelming quantity is allocated to industries to enable them to cut losses, or make more profit at the cost of public health...it is not a sign of good governance.'

Traditionally, ng has been consumed by the power and fertiliser industries; but now other sectors, like transport, are also demanding cleaner fuels. Thanks to the efforts of pressure groups, the sc has mandated two cities