New Delhi, May 20: COME June, all buses at Gurgaon bus depot will shift to this wonderous mix of fuel — they will run on diesel mixed with bio-diesel. With this, the depot will claim the distinction of being the first to run it’s buses on bio-fuel.

A decision to this effect, recently taken by Haryana government, has been prompted by the results of a pilot project undertaken on 20 buses of the same depot. After analysing data collected over a year, it has been confirmed that not only had the smoke emission levels reduced, the mileage has also seen marginal improvement.

‘‘In April 2004, we started running 20 buses on a diesel containing five pc bio-diesel,’’ said Jaibir Singh Arya, GM, Haryana Roadways, Gurgaon.

“In order to procure comparative data, we used another 20 buses running on normal diesel on similar routes. Special care was taken to ensure that both sets of buses were almost of same age and had travelled similar distances,’’ said Arya, adding: ‘‘A comparative analysis of both showed the mileage of the ones using bio-diesel was marginally better.’’

Processed from a plant, jatropha curcas, the bio-diesel for the project was made available by IOC at no extra cost. ‘‘Smoke levels in buses running on fuel mixed with bio-diesel have certainly gone down,’’ says R.K. Malhotra of IOC’s R & D Division. IOC got the emission from these buses checked at it’s R & D facility in Faridabad. ‘‘Although, improvement in mileage was something we were not expecting, it’s seems to be a positive development. Having a home-grown fuel like this can go a long way in providing energy-security to the country,’’ he adds.

IOC officials say only 5 pc of bio-diesel was used in Haryana Roadways buses because the makers of the bus were reluctant considering the warranty conditions they had offered Roadways. ‘‘This percentage can easily be increased to 20 pc over the next few months,’’ says Malhotra. IOC is also conducting detailed research studies on the use of bio-diesel on a variety of vehicle engines. ‘‘Studies show that use of bio-diesel helps reducing carbon monoxide levels,’’ says Malhotra.

As part of an MoU with Railways, IOC has got jatropha plantation in 70 hectares in Gujarat. With it’s high oil content and ability to grow in degraded soil and low-rainfall areas, Jatropha plantations are catching the Haryana farmers’ eye too.