Rage over E20 fuel was paid campaign: Gadkari

New Delhi: Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday said the rage over blending 20 percent ethanol in petrol fuel was a "paid campaign".

The remark came a day after the government notified changes to the Central Motor Vehicles Rules 1989, allowing flex-fuel vehicles that can run on up to E100 (nearly pure ethanol).

Addressing an event organised by industry body CII, Gadkari further said India can save precious foreign exchange by reducing imports of fossil fuels.

"Three months ago, huge noise (khub haala)) was made against the E20 (20 per cent ethanol-blended petrol) fuel; now rage against E20 fuel is over...It was a paid campaign," he said.

The minster also said that taking note of complaints on social media about the poor condition of some highway stretches, he reviewed 700-800 projects recently. "I am not going to compromise on the quality of the highways," he said.

Gadkari assured that in the next two years, highway users won't face any inconvenience.

“Since 2022, four crore cars and 20 crore two-wheelers have been running on E20 fuel. Though E20 is being used since 2022, has anyone’s vehicle broken down yet?” said Gadkari. He further said that due to the initiatives by the Union government, the domestic production of ethanol, methanol, biodiesel, LNG, CBG (Compressed Bio-Gas), hydrogen, and aviation biofuel will increase and import of it will reduce significantly.

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