Farsighted Fuel Policy: Need of the Hour
In our country, everything is done without thinking about the consequences—how something will affect the ordinary citizen. The government has forced ethanol-blended fuel on consumers. The road transport minister, who has nothing to do with the petroleum ministry, keeps justifying the blending of ethanol and forcing car manufacturers to make cars that are E20 and E30 compatible. Now he wants to bring in E85 and 100 per cent ethanol fuel.
If they conduct a survey today, the findings will show that more than 90 per cent of the vehicles plying on the road will not be even E10- or E15-compatible. These vehicles will face problems and become prone to frequent breakdowns if blended fuel is forced upon them. Moreover, it is not possible to retrofit or convert old cars to make them E20-compatible. Most people use their cars for eight to 10 years, and it is just not possible to junk their old cars to buy new ones: it is not an affordable proposition.
The government needs to change its policy and offer the option of buying non-blended petrol along with the blended variety. The problem is that they promulgate policies without giving much thought to how these will affect the people and their cars. To make matters worse, ours is a water-deficient country. At this moment, there are water supply cuts in Pune and Mumbai. Therefore, it does not make sense to make ethanol from high water-consuming crops like sugarcane, rice, and corn.
It is great to see new roads and expressways being made, but the quality of the work tends to be very poor. Within six months, most of them become riddled with big potholes. A new road should last for six to seven years at least, whereas here we witness newly laid ones falling apart within six to seven months. When you drive in Europe, you drive in a straight line; here in India, you are constantly forced to swerve from the right to the left (or vice versa), trying to avoid those pesky potholes.
EDITOR – ASPI BHATHENA
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