(a) the various steps taken by the Government to curb vehicular pollution;
(b) whether the Government see blending of ethanol with fuel as one of the solutions for air pollution; and
(c) if so, the details thereof and the steps taken by the Government to ensure ethanol blending with fuel?
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
(SHRI BABUL SUPRIYO)
(a) A number of measures have been taken by the Government to curb vehicular pollution.
• BS-IV standards have been adopted from 1st April, 2017. Leapfrogging from BS-IV to BS-VI fuel standards since 1st April, 2018 in NCT of Delhi, in NCR since October 2019 and by 1st April, 2020 in the rest of the country for both fuel as well as vehicles.
• To promote electric vehicles, Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME) -2 scheme has been rolled out with an outlay of Rs 10000 crore for 3 years.
• Streamlining the issuance of Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificates.
• Permit requirement for electric vehicles has been exempted.
• Operationalization of Eastern Peripheral Expressway &Western Peripheral Expressway in 2018 to divert non-destined traffic from Delhi.
• Use of RFID tags have been made mandatory for commercial vehicles entering Delhi.
• Network of metro has expanded in Delhi NCR with total length of 377 km and 274 stations.
• Environment Protection Charges (EPC) have been imposed on vehicles with engine capacity of 2000cc and above in Delhi NCR.
(b) & (c)
The Government is promoting Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme with the broader objectives of reducing import dependency, promote employment generation, better remuneration to farmers and address environmental issues.
Under the EBP Programme implemented through Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs), Public Sector OMCs are selling up to 10% ethanol blended petrol. To promote the ethanol blending with fuel, the Government has notified the National Policy on Biofuels-2018 which indicates the target of 20% blending of ethanol in petrol by 2030.
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