New Delhi, Aug 19 (PTI) Flagging concerns over the rollout of E20 petrol, the Congress Working Committee on Wednesday said issues related to fuel contamination and the environmental costs of diverting sugarcane and maize for ethanol blending remain unresolved and demand urgent attention as well as speedy redressal.
The assertion was made after a meeting of the CWC at the Indira Bhawan, chaired by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and attended by top leaders, including former party chiefs Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, AICC general secretaries Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Jairam Ramesh and K C Venugopal.
In a resolution passed at the meeting, the CWC reiterated its concern over E20’s lower mileage, compatibility risks and the loss of consumer choice.
“Additionally, concerns over fuel contamination and the environmental costs of diverting sugarcane and maize to fuel that remain unresolved demand urgent attention and speedy redressal,” the resolution said.
The Congress has been raising concerns over the rollout of E20 fuel and attacking the government over the issue.
Stepping up its attack, the party had earlier said the motivations behind the move were clearly not environmental and asserted that a genuinely “green” fuel policy must account for the entire ecological footprint of the fuel it promotes.
The opposition party has alleged the rollout of E20 petrol has deprived middle-class Indians of choice, saddled them with higher fuel bills, and damaged the vehicles they had saved for years to purchase.
The opposition party had claimed ethanol producers were the only beneficiaries of the E20 rollout. PTI ASK/SKC RHL
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