NOTIFICATION ISSUED MAKING DOPING OF ETHANOL
WITH PETROL MANDATORY FROM 1ST JANUARY 2003 IN 9 STATES
AND 4 UTs
CONTROL ORDER REGULATING
SUPPLY AND DISTRIBUTION OF PETROL AMENDED
In view of the need to build up ethanol availability
in the country Government has decided to mandate the use of petrol
doped with 5% ethanol i.e. Gasohol, in two phases throughout the
country. Phase-I, to commence from 1st January 2003,
will focus on the major sugar producing States while Phase-II
would be taken up subsequently to cover the rest of the regions.
The Control Order regulating supply and distribution of petrol
has also been amended accordingly. The resolution mandating gasohol
supply in the Phase-I States/Union Territories as well as the
amendment of the MS & HSD (Regulation of Supply and Distribution
and Prevention of malpractices) Control Order, 2002 have been
notified in the Gazette. The 9 States covered under the first
phase are: Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra,
Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. The 4 Union Territories
are Chandigarh, Daman & Diu, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and
Pondicherry. The blended fuel i.e. Gasohol would be supplied through
11,538 retail outlets in these States and UTs.
The total petrol consumption in these States
and Union Territories was over 4.6 million tonnes in 2001-2002.
At this level, the estimated ethanol required for blending with
petrol would be approximately in the range of 32-35 crore litres
per year. These States have geared themselves up to encourage
the sugar industries and distillery units to augment their ethanol
production capacity. The Sugar Development Fund Act, 1982 has
been amended to fund such augmentation programmes.
It may be recalled that
the Government had earlier launched three Pilot Projects – two
in Maharashtra and one U.P. for production and sale of 5% ethanol
doped petrol. The first Pilot Project commenced operations in
April 2001 at Miraj-Hazarwadi Depot in Maharashtra and the remaining
two in June 2001 at Bareilly in U.P. and Manmad in Maharashtra.
These projects confirmed the suitability of use of gasohol fuel
in vehicles without requirement of any modification as also its
potential to reduce environmental pollution on account of its
oxygenate quality. Added to these, use of gasohol also confers
advantage of boosting production in the agricultural and industrial
sectors and requires no alteration in the existing specification
of petrol notified by the Bureau of Indian Standards.
