Government of India Has expressed serious concern over the imposition of additional charges on ethanol by Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. The Center’s Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has urged these states to reconsider the recently made policy amendments, which can obstruct the country’s ethanol mixing program. Fuel prices can increase and weaken environmental goals. Currently, there are governments of various political parties in the three states of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana, which impose additional charges on ethanol. Himachal Pradesh has a Congress government. The Aam Aadmi Party is in power in Punjab, while Haryana has a BJP government. The special thing is that Haryana was expected to take steps in accordance with the energy policy and approach of the central government. Despite this, the Haryana government took an independent decision to increase the fee on ethanol.
In this context, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has sent formal letters to these three states. These letters were personally addressed by Additional Secretary Mr. Praveen M. Khanuja in the Ministry. A letter was sent to Himachal Pradesh Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena on 27 March. After this, a letter was sent to Punjab Chief Secretary KAP Sinha on 8 April and Anurag Rastogi, Chief Secretary of Haryana on 23 May.
Pot been likely to increase the cost of petrol
The Ministry has stated in these letters that new provisions such as regulatory duty distillers’ license and renewal duty on ethanol permits and import duty can obstruct the uninterrupted movement of ethanol within and outside the states. The ministry clarified that these additional charges may increase the cost of ethanol mixed petrol, which may potentially decrease in efforts to increase the nationwide mixture level. The ministry also mentioned that such fees are being levied on the product which is already under the purview of GST, which can make it not only from the policy point of view but also from the legal point of view. The government’s ethanol mix program is an important national mission aimed at reducing dependence on fuel imports to reduce carbon emissions and to strengthen the rural economy by providing markets for agricultural produce.
Despite the commendable progress in the ethanol mixture by these three states, each state is close to the current ethanol supply year 18% in the year. The Center emphasized that the introduction of such fees could prevent future growth. The ministry also informed that only Punjab and Haryana are the states across the country which have levied such fees for fuel mixture, especially on ethanol.
Appeal to withdraw new fees
Stakeholders associated with the ethanol industry, especially the Grain Ethanol Manufacturers Association, have also supported the Center’s concerns. According to the organization, the industry is already under economic stress due to increasing the cost of raw materials and the sale price set by oil marketing companies. In such a situation, state level additional fees can affect production costs and employment. The central government has appealed to the states to withdraw or amend these new fees, so that by 2025-26, 20% and by 2030, there can be progress towards achieving the national target of 30% ethanol mixture by 2030. The government has reiterated that it is committed to work in coordination with the states to carry forward the clean energy circular economy and national energy goals.
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