Kejriwal claims ethanol blending in ATF, diesel next; Centre says 'no such proposal'

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday alleged that the Centre is planning to expand ethanol blending beyond petrol to diesel and aviation turbine fuel (ATF), while also increasing ethanol content in petrol beyond the current E20 mix. He urged people to avoid buying new petrol and diesel vehicles for the next few years.

In a post on X in Hindi, Kejriwal claimed the government plans to raise ethanol blending in petrol to more than 50% after introducing E20 fuel.

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"It seems they are going to adulterate petrol with more than 50 per cent. They are just waiting for the atmosphere to calm down. First, they forced E20 petrol into your E0 and E10 vehicles and wrecked them. Today, if you buy a new E20 vehicle, the government will force E50 petrol into it after a few days and damage it," he said.

Kejriwal further alleged that the government would soon introduce ethanol blending in diesel, and advised people against purchasing new petrol or diesel vehicles for the time being.

In a separate post, the former Delhi chief minister claimed the Modi government was also planning to blend ethanol in aviation turbine fuel (ATF).

"Sources indicate that the Modi government plans to mix ethanol in Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF). Experts say that this could seriously compromise the safety of flights," he said.

Responding to the allegations, Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu dismissed the claims as "completely false and irresponsible".

"There is no such proposal. Ethanol and Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) are entirely different and should not be conflated. SAF is an internationally certified aviation fuel recognised by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and adopted globally. It undergoes rigorous testing and meets stringent global safety standards," the minister said.

He added that spreading misinformation about aviation safety only creates "needless anxiety" among air travellers and stressed that passenger safety remains the government's highest priority.

BJP's IT department head Amit Malviya also slammed Kejriwal on X, saying that spreading "fake news" and creating undue "panic" is [Kejriwal's] "old habit", and asserted that the Centre has clearly stated that there was no decision on ethanol mixing beyond E20.

Earlier this month, Kejriwal had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing concerns over the nationwide rollout of E20 petrol. He sought the availability of both pure petrol and E20 fuel at fuel stations and demanded that ethanol-blended petrol be priced lower than regular petrol.