Centre to promote ethanol-blended petrol

New Delhi, Apr 4: The government will formally launch a programme tomorrow to promote the use of ethanol-blended petrol in the country.

The programme will be launched in zones where 5 per cent ethanol blending with petrol as decided by the government can be implemented, sources said.

The Centre, in September last year, had directed that state-run oil marketing companies shall sell 5 per cent ethanol blended petrol as per the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) specifications in the notified 20 states and four Union Territories with effect from November 1, 2006.

Of these, tenders have been finalised for ethanol supply in respect of Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Bihar, Delhi, Jharkhand, Goa, parts of Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu.

Oil Marketing companies claim that the states have been imposing several licensing and procedural requirements, levying a plethora of taxes and restricting inter-state movement of industrial alcohol.

This has been the main problem in the smooth implementation of the programme.

UNI