Bengaluru: Two stroke engines are considered more polluting than the four stroke ones. Now, a proposal to ban rickshaws that have these two stroke engines from the roads of Bengaluru, has been sent to the environment and ecology department.

Transport minister Ramalinga Reddy told the legislative council on Tuesday that 30,000 two-stroke engine autos are operating in the city.

The decision comes in the wake of a direction from the high court to the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) which has instructed the transport department to impose a ban. The minister said the government is thinking of hiking the existing Rs 30,000 subsidy to owners/drivers to facilitate upgradation from two-stroke to four-stroke autos.

PWD minister H C Mahadevappa said the government will give directions to toll operators in the state to dedicate a separate lane for ambulances and VIP vehicles.  While a seperate lane for Ambulances is understandable, a seperate lane for VIP’s flies in the face of the logic of democracy. Surprisingly, leaders, cutting across the party lines, have demanded action against toll operators for not dedicating a separate lane, he claimed.