What Nitin Gadkari said on E-20 petrol mandate: 'No fact...'

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Thursday reactedto anger on social media against his government's decision to blend ethanol in petrol, saying a paid campaign was being run against him.

"The social media campaign was a paid campaign against me. The Supreme Court has also dismissed the petition. There was no fact," he said at an event.

Addressing concerns over reduced mileage and engine damage, Gadkari stated that no technical issues were found in the evaluations.

"All testing agencies have confirmed there is no problem with implementation," he said.

Nitin Gadkari said that theAutomotive Research Association of India (ARAI) had given clarity on the use of E20 fuel, adding that the government remained committed to pushing cleaner fuels through the E20 programme and flex-fuel vehicles.

He justified the decision, saying fossil fuelsworth Rs 22 lakh crore were being imported in the country annually. He attributed the decision to reducing dependence on imports for energy.

"The Prime Minister's vision is of a self-reliant India. From an economic perspective, if Rs 22 lakh crore is infused into the Indian economy, the benefits would be immense, so why shouldn't we do this? We made the decision to produce ethanol from maize. As a result, maize cultivation in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and across the country has tripled," he said, pointing to how the diversification of agriculture into energy has supported farmers.

He also spoke on the vehiclescrapping policy.

"Scraping old cars and buying new cars gives revenue benefit of Rs 40,000 crore to the Centre and states," he said.