The Hindu Business Line : House panel for independent assessment of ethanol availability

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House panel for independent assessment of ethanol availability

‘Make ethanol scheme mandatory for pvt oil marketing cos’

Alternative fuel
Implementation of five per cent ethanol blended petrol in notified areas would require 0.56 million KL of ethanol per annum.
Urgent need to effect a substantial reduction in the number and amount of taxes/duties levied on ethanol.

Our Bureau

New Delhi, Nov. 19 The Standing Committee on Petroleum and Natural Gas has asked the Centre to make its own ‘independent’ assessment of the indigenous availability of ethanol, while suggesting that the ethanol blended petrol (EBP) programme be made mandatory for the private oil marketing companies.

“Various industrial associations dealing with alcohol/ethanol, viz. Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA), All India Distillers’ Association (AIDA), Indian Chemicals Manufacturers Association (ICMA), etc have been making varying projections about the availability of ethanol in the country,” the Committee noted in its report on ‘Strategy for Development of Alternative Sources of Oil and Gas’.

Since proper assessment is essential to firm up the future policy and planning on the issue, the Committee, has recommended that the Government should make its own ‘independent’ assessment of the availability of ethanol on a priority basis and complete this exercise in time bound manner, the report said.

The Government introduced the scheme of mandatory supply of five per cent EBP in nine major sugar producing States and four contiguous Union Territories effective January 2003, which was extended to the whole country from November 1, 2006 (excluding North-East, Jammu and Kashmir, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep).

The Committee was informed that implementation of five per cent EBP in notified areas would require 0.56 million KL of ethanol per annum, the report said, observing that “there was no reliable assessment of the total availability of ethanol in the country.”

The Committee also expressed concern that private companies engaged in sale of petroleum products are not marketing EBP as it has not been made obligatory to them. “Since the EBP programme has been launched by the Government to reduce dependence on imported oil by encouraging the use of indigenous sources of energy, it should be made mandatory for the private companies also to implement the scheme,” it felt. In spite of having many advantages, the Committee noted that a large scale promotion and production of alternative fuels has not taken place.

It also felt that there was an urgent need to effect a substantial reduction in the number and amount of taxes/duties levied on ethanol. The State taxation issue has been proving one of the major hurdles for successful implementation of EBP programme.

“The Central Government should seriously take up the matter with the State Governments so that these taxes/duties are rationalised and made uniform throughout the country,” the Committee in its report said. It felt that hassle-free inter-State movement of ethanol should be allowed so that surplus stocks in some States can be fed to the deficient States which would ultimately obviate the need to go in for import of ethanol.

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