The Centre on Tuesday dismissed media reports claiming that it described the 20 per cent Ethanol Blended Petrol (E20) Programme as an “ongoing experiment” before the Supreme Court, saying such reports are “completely false” and do not reflect the actual submissions made on behalf of the Union government.
In a clarification issued by the Office of the Attorney General for India, the government said reports stating that the E20 Programme is “still an ongoing experiment” and that “the impact of the policy would become clearer by next year” are incorrect and do not reflect “anything even close to the actual submissions made before the Hon’ble Court.”
The clarification pertains to the proceedings arising out of the Special Leave Petition filed by the Oil Marketing Companies (BPCL) in the ethanol allocation matter.
According to the Attorney General’s office, it was submitted before the Supreme Court that similar writ petitions involving identical issues concerning allocation of ethanol to Dedicated Ethanol Plants are pending before different High Courts. The Union informed the court that Transfer Petitions are being filed so that common questions of interpretation of law arising from the same contractual framework may be considered together to avoid parallel proceedings and the possibility of conflicting decisions.
The Attorney General further submitted that this step is also likely to enable expeditious resolution of the litigation so that supplies of ethanol to OMCs to maintain 20 per cent blending with petrol throughout the year are not impacted under the Ethanol Blended Petrol Programme, which is a national programme.
Considering the submission, the Supreme Court viewed that the proposed Transfer Petitions be filed and that status quo may be maintained in respect of the ethanol allocation for the current Ethanol Supply Year (2025-26), insofar as the present matter is concerned.
The government clarified that at no stage was any submission made that the Ethanol Blended Petrol Programme or the E20 blending programme is an “experiment.”
“It is clarified in explicit terms that any suggestion that the Government described the E20 programme before the Hon’ble Supreme Court as an ‘experiment’ is incorrect and does not represent the submissions made on behalf of the Union of India,” the clarification said.
