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The Supreme Court will hear plea challenging the nationwide rollout of EBP-20, citing risks to non-compliant vehicles and seeking ethanol-free petrol and clear labeling.
Supreme Court of India.
The Supreme Court will, on Monday, September 1, hear a petition challenging the nationwide rollout of 20% Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP-20) without providing consumers an option to purchase ethanol-free fuel.
The public interest litigation (PIL) is listed for hearing before a bench of Justice BR Gavai, Justice K Vinod Chandran, and Justice NV Anjaria, according to a report by Bar and Bench.
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The Government of India introduced E20 fuel in April 2023 to reduce carbon emissions and advance national sustainability goals. However, the car and motorcycle users look irked with the mandate of only E20 fuel, leaving them using it on their older non-E20-compatible vehicles.
What’s In The Plea?
The petition has claimed that vehicles manufactured in India before April 2023 are not designed to run on fuel mixed with ethanol. It further claimed that even some BS-VI compliant vehicles, as recent as two years old, are not suitable for such a blend.
It also highlighted damage to engines, a drop of mileage, among other consequences of the move.
“Direct the respondents to ensure that consumers are informed about the ethanol compatibility of their vehicles at the time of fuel dispensing,” the plea stated as reported by news agency PTI.
It claimed engines are suffering corrosion, fuel efficiency is dropping, and repair bills are mounting, while insurance companies are rejecting claims for damage caused by ethanol fuel.
“As the vehicles are not compatible with ethanol-blended petrol, which will result in damage to the said vehicles, the claim raised in this regard will not be covered by the manufacturers or the insurance companies as the consumers have violated the terms specified,” the plea stated, as per the report.
The petition has sought a direction to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas to ensure the availability of ethanol-free petrol at all fuel stations.
It has also sought a direction to the authorities to mandatorily label ethanol content on all petrol pumps and dispensing units, making it clearly visible to consumers, and also to ensure that consumers are informed about the ethanol compatibility of their vehicles at the time of fuel dispensing.
The plea said the authorities be directed to conduct a “nationwide impact study on mechanical degradation and efficiency loss due to ethanol blended fuel to the extent of 20 percent usage in non-compliant vehicles”.
(With inputs from agencies)
About the Author
Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from Ben…Read More
Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from Ben… Read More
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