'Petrol Will Be Available At Rs 15 If...': Nitin Gadkari On Use Of Ethanol Alternative In Vehicles

Gadkari in Rajasthan said that petrol will be available at the rate of a mere Rs 15 per litre if an average of 60 per cent ethanol and 40 per cent of electricity is taken to fuel the vehicles.

Union Road and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari while addressing the people of poll-bound Rajasthan on Tuesday called for the use of ethanol as an alternative to petrol in vehicles. During his visit to Pratapgarh, he said that petrol will be available at the rate of a mere Rs 15 per litre if an average of 60 per cent ethanol and 40 per cent of electricity is taken to fuel the vehicles. The Union Minister added that by switching to the said cleaner fuels, pollution as well as imports will reduce. The import is around Rs 16 lakh crores which then might go into the homes of farmers, reported news agency ANI. 

He laid the foundation stone and inaugurated 11 projects worth Rs 5,600 crores in Pratapgarh on Tuesday. After the inauguration, while addressing the people, he said, "Our government is of the mindset that the farmers become not only 'annadata' but also 'urjadata'...All the vehicles will now run on ethanol produced by farmers. If an average of 60% ethanol and 40% electricity is taken then petrol will be available at the rate of Rs 15 per litre and the people will be benefitted. Pollution and import will reduce. The import is of Rs 16 Lakh Crores, this money will go to the homes of farmers instead."

Gadkari said, "Central Road Research Institute has found that stubble will be used to make Tar. Ethanol is being prepared from stubble in Panipat and our farmers are also making aviation fuel... A SpiceJet aircraft flew from Dehradun to Delhi on fuel that was made by our farmers. India is progressing now. We have become one of the biggest economies of the world, the fastest growing economy in the world."

Along with the farmers in Pratapgarh, Nitin Gadkari also spoke on the employment of the youth. He said that the turnover of our automobile industry is around Rs 7.5 lakh crores. NavBharat Times cited him as saying, four and a half crore youth have got jobs so far. Gadkari added, "This is the highest GST-paying industry to the government. We have decided that we will make this industry worth 15 lakh crores. Due to this, 4.5 crore youths have got jobs, and in the coming days 10 crore youths will get jobs from this industry."