New Delhi: More than three years after the rollout of the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) programme, and months after E20 became the standard default fuel across India, the Union government has not estimated how many vehicles in India are fully compatible with E20 fuel, it informed Rajya Sabha on Monday (July 27). The government, however, reiterated that the EBP programme was backed by “scientific evaluation” and consultations with automobile manufacturers and technical institutions.In a written reply to a query by Congress MP from Rajasthan, Neeraj Dangi, minister of state for petroleum and natural gas Suresh Gopi told the upper house that “no such assessment” to determine how many vehicles in the country that were currently fully compatible with E20 fuel was carried out by the ministry.The response comes on a day when a new online movement under the name of E20 Janta Party (EJP) began taking shape, just two days after the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-led movement led to Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation.The Union government’s E20 policy has been facing severe backlash for months with online campaigns, RTI applications, and petitions in the Supreme Court demanding transparency as well as continued availability of ethanol-free petrol.On the question of whether any study was conducted regarding the potential impact on the engines or mileage of vehicles not designed for E20, and which authority would be responsible in such a case, the minister provided an elaborate answer, saying the implementation was done through “a phased, scientifically validated and consultative process” that involved NITI Aayog, automobile manufacturers, Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs), Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), Indian Institute of Petroleum (IIP) and other technical institutions.“Ethanol is not a new fuel. It has been used globally for over a century, with countries such as Brazil operating higher ethanol blends for decades,” Gopi stated in his written reply.“In India, the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme commenced with a pilot in 2001, E5 was introduced in 2006, and although blending remained around 1.53% in 2013-14, it has since been increased progressively in a calibrated manner after creating the necessary production capacity, infrastructure and regulatory framework,” he went on to say.Also read: Union Govt Says India Achieved E20 Target Five Years in Advance, No Plan to Move Back to E0/E10 PetrolThe government also stated that extensive laboratory studies and field trials were conducted by ARAI, SIAM, IOCL, IIP and automobile manufacturers covering parameters such as engine durability, drivability, startability, corrosion resistance, material compatibility, emissions and fuel efficiency that “confirmed that E20 is safe for use under prescribed standards”, and automobile manufacturers, component suppliers, SIAM, ARAI, testing agencies and oil marketing companies were consulted at “every stage of the scientific evaluation” for the phased rollout. Complaints of unusual wear and tear in engines, fuel tanks, carburettors and fuel lines have emerged since the policy’s implementation last month – five years ahead of schedule. However, the minister, in his reply, stated that these studies, “also established that legacy vehicles do not exhibit any significant variation in performance or abnormal wear and tear due to E20”, noting that E15+ blended petrol has already been in widespread use for over three-and-a-half years and E19-E20 fuel for over two-and-a-half years.Regarding mileage concerns, the minister said that fuel efficiency is “influenced by several factors, including driving conditions, driving habits and vehicle maintenance”, diverting the focus towards how E20 enables “cleaner and more complete combustion, resulting in near-zero particulate matter emissions and improved urban air quality”.