Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has given a strong statement challenging those criticizing ethanol-blended petrol. He asked to name even one car which has faced any problem due to this E20 petrol. He said this amid orders to sell E20 petrol (20% ethanol-blended fuel) and complaints about low mileage of vehicles.
According to Navrashtra, while addressing the ‘Developed India’ conference, Gadkari said that India’s dependence on fossil fuels (such as coal and petrol) is an economic burden. Due to this, ₹ 22 lakh crore is spent annually on fuel import and the environment is also at risk. Therefore, adopting clean energy is very important for the progress of the country.
He said, “There has not been a single case of car having problems due to E20 petrol. Is there any car in the country which has faced any problem due to the use of E20 petrol? Just name one.” Gadkari said misinformation was being spread regarding the use of more ethanol-blended petrol and alleged that the campaign was being run by people with special interests.
Reduction in dependence on crude oil
In fact, India has already achieved the target of 20% ethanol-blended petrol. This has reduced dependence on imported crude oil and also reduced carbon emissions. Ethanol is produced from biomass sources like sugarcane, corn or rice. While in India, car owners do not have the option to choose different types of fuel at the petrol pump, in Brazil, customers can choose fuel at different prices. Brazilian law provides for price discounts for fuel blends with higher ethanol content.
Family companies are not dependent on ethanol production
On the allegation that the companies of his family members are related to ethanol production. And that is why they are promoting petrol with more ethanol. On this, the Union Minister clarified that even though his family members have sugar mills, their companies are not dependent on ethanol production. He said that there is excess of ethanol in the country.
Benefits to farmers
Gadkari said, “When we decided to make ethanol from maize, the market price of maize was ₹1,200 per quintal, while the minimum support price (MSP) was ₹1,800 per quintal. After this decision, the price of maize increased to ₹2,800 per quintal.” He further said, “Farmers of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar got additional benefit of ₹45,000 crore.”
Proposal to change emission rules
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has proposed changes in vehicle emission norms to expand the use of more ethanol-blended fuels and alternative fuels. The aim of this move is to pave the way for ‘flex-fuel’ vehicles and vehicles running entirely on biofuel for all categories of vehicles.
Promoting the use of hydrogen-CNG mixture
The proposed changes in the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 are aimed at promoting the use of fuels like E85 (petrol blended with 85% ethanol) and E100 (enabling vehicles to run on almost pure ethanol) as well as B100 biodiesel and hydrogen-CNG blends.
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