New Delhi, August 6: Arvind Kejriwal, the convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party, has raised concerns regarding the central government’s ethanol blending policy in petrol. He took to the social media platform ‘X’ to express his doubts about the government’s previous implementation of E20 petrol and its plans to increase ethanol blending to 50%.
Kejriwal questioned, “What is the central government’s plan? It seems they are preparing to mix more than 50% ethanol in petrol. They are just waiting for the situation to calm down.”
He accused the government of forcing older vehicles to use E20 petrol, leading to their scrapping. He warned that new E20 vehicle owners might face a similar fate. “If you buy an E20 vehicle today, the government might soon force E50 petrol into it, rendering it useless,” he stated.
Kejriwal also suggested that the government is likely to introduce blending in diesel soon. He advised the public to avoid purchasing new petrol and diesel vehicles for the next few years.
He shared a report from The Tribune, which indicated that after the introduction of E20 petrol in Punjab, the market for older petrol vehicles has plummeted by nearly ₹1,000 crore. Dealers report that buyers are now shifting towards diesel vehicles and electric cars.
E20 refers to petrol blended with 20% ethanol. The government argues that this will reduce carbon emissions from vehicles and lower the costs associated with crude oil imports. However, the policy has sparked significant debate. Many are questioning whether older vehicles can operate effectively with E20. Experts suggest that using E20 could reduce a vehicle’s mileage by 2 to 6%.
Currently, there has been no official announcement from the government regarding E50 or diesel blending. However, Kejriwal’s comments have intensified discussions on social media about this issue.
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