Delhi Transporters Announce Parliament March Against E20 Fuel Policy

The Delhi Taxi and Tourist Transporters and Tour Operators Association has announced a protest march to Parliament on August 4 against the government’s E20 petrol policy. The group says many transporters are worried that the fuel is affecting older vehicles by reducing mileage, raising repair costs, and causing engine problems. The Central government, however, says E20 fuel is safe, cleaner than regular petrol, and helps farmers by creating more demand for ethanol.

At a press conference on Friday, association president Sanjay Samrat spoke about the concerns raised by transport operators from different parts of the country. Holding sugarcane during the event, he said many vehicle owners have shared complaints after using E20 petrol.

Samrat said several transporters have reported lower fuel mileage and higher spending on vehicle repairs. He also said many owners fear that long-term use of E20 fuel could affect engine life. According to him, many vehicles made before 2015 were not built for petrol with 20 percent ethanol, while newer models are better prepared for such fuel.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has rejected these claims. The Ministry said India’s ethanol blending plan has moved forward step by step over more than 20 years. It also said there is no plan at present to raise the ethanol level beyond 20 percent.

Replying to comparisons with Brazil, the Ministry said ethanol has been used as a vehicle fuel in many countries for more than 100 years. It added that India’s move toward ethanol-blended petrol has been planned through policy changes, investment, and higher production over many years.

The Ministry also said work on ethanol blending started long before the current government came to power. A pilot project began in 2001, the programme was announced in 2004, and petrol with 5 percent ethanol reached several states by 2006. The policy was also published in the Gazette of India in January 2013.

Officials said India first planned to reach 5 percent ethanol blending in 10 states and Union Territories. However, progress was slow, and blending stayed at about 1.5 percent until 2014.

According to the Ministry, the main problem was low ethanol production. At that time, most ethanol came from sugarcane, which is a seasonal crop. Annual production was about 400 crore litres, which was too low to meet higher blending goals.

The government said things changed after the National Policy on Biofuels was launched in May 2018. The policy focused on increasing ethanol production, bringing in more investment, and building the system needed to support higher blending levels. Officials say these steps have helped reduce India’s dependence on imported crude oil while supporting cleaner fuel.