Pune: Team Bharat has announced a nationwide ‘3S’ agitation—Sadak (streets), Sansad (Parliament) and Supreme Court—against the Centre’s policy of making E20 ethanol-blended petrol mandatory, alleging that the move is “the biggest scam in the country.”
Addressing a press conference in Pune, Tehseen Poonawalla and fellow members of Team Bharat said the organisation would launch a nationwide campaign to highlight the alleged impact of the E20 policy on consumers, farmers and the Indian economy.
Dinesh Tantia, Vishal Jain, Nachiket Deshpande and Shankar Raman were also present at the press conference.
Under the first phase of the campaign, ‘Sadak’, the organisation plans to create public awareness and reach out to citizens across the country. Through ‘Sansad’, it will seek to raise the issue before Members of Parliament during the upcoming Monsoon Session. The third component, ‘Supreme Court’, will involve exploring appropriate legal remedies to protect consumer rights, the organisation said.
Team Bharat alleged that more than 80 percent of vehicles currently operating on Indian roads are designed to run on E10 fuel. Despite this, consumers were allegedly being denied the freedom to choose and were being compelled to use E20 petrol.
Poonawalla claimed that the benefits of the ethanol policy had largely gone to a limited number of distillery owners, while consumers and farmers had not received the benefits promised to them.
The organisation also questioned the government’s claim that ethanol blending was helping save foreign exchange. Poonawalla argued that while India continued to import fuel, food crops and agricultural produce were also being diverted for ethanol production. This, he said, could have implications for food security and may contribute to rising food prices.
Team Bharat further alleged that the government had not made public detailed technical studies, testing reports, environmental assessments, health impact studies and economic analyses related to the E20 policy. It demanded that all scientific data concerning the impact of increased ethanol blending on emissions, air quality and public health be placed in the public domain.
The organisation has put forward five key demands, including continued availability of E10 petrol for vehicles compatible with E10 fuel, a reduction in the price of E0 petrol to provide consumers with a genuine choice of fuel, and a 20 per cent price concession on E20 petrol in proportion to its ethanol content.
Demanding a probe into Gadkari’s stand on ethanol policy
Poonawalla also demanded an independent inquiry into what he described as “suspicious interests” behind Union Minister Nitin Gadkari’s strong support for the ethanol policy.
Team Bharat clarified that it was not opposed to ethanol or renewable fuels. The organisation said it supported efforts to strengthen India’s energy security and reduce dependence on crude oil imports. However, it maintained that major policy decisions must be based on scientific evidence, transparency, consumer choice and extensive public consultation.
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