Govt committed to supplying Euro VI fuel: Gadkari

New Delhi: Government is committed to supplying Euro VI compliant fuel which will be at par with international standards, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said.

"Euro VI fuel will be supplied by the Petroleum Ministry complying to international norms," Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari said.

Dismissing any apprehensions of diluting the fuel standards as false, the minister said government is making sure that "whatever standards have been fixed in the world for Euro VI, will be supplied here."

Automobile industry body Siam had recently criticised the BS VI fuel standards announced in the draft notification by Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, saying it was diluted.
Siam alleged that BS VI fuel norms in the draft is "inferior" to Euro VI norms.

Terming the allegations "false" the minister said petroleum refineries were making a huge investment to supply Euro VI compliant fuel, which will minimise pollution that has become a big problem.

The government had earlier estimated that refineries in the country will invest about Rs 30,000 crore to upgrade to the Euro VI fuel standards.

Siam has demanded "exactly the same BS VI fuel as per Euro 6 fuel standards prevalent in Europe if it has to meet the BS VI norms for vehicles", saying "this requirement for the country should be non-negotiable".

Earlier, refusing to budge under pressure from auto industry on stricter fuel emission norms, Gadkari has said carmakers must follow the same standards in India that they do elsewhere.

"I do not agree with Siam. When the same car manufacturer can build cars following the same norms across the globe, then why can't they build it here? The government is not reconsidering its decision," Gadkari has told SIAM on their request to reconsider the decision to leapfrog to BS VI norms.

In a bid to curb vehicular pollution, the government in January decided to implement stricter emission norms of Bharat Stage (BS) VI from April 1, 2020 by skipping BS-V altogether.
At present, BS IV norms are followed in parts of India and by April 1, 2017, the whole of the country is scheduled to be covered under it.

The decision to leapfrog to BS-VI was taken at an inter- ministerial meeting chaired by Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, which was attended by Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Heavy Industries Minister Anant Geete and Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar.