NEW DELHI: Two inter-ministerial groups on Monday decided to prepare a detailed plan for generation and marketing of bio-ethanol and making it compulsory for all government agencies and their affiliated bodies to ensure commercial vehicles hired and engaged by them get smart tags to cross toll plazas without waiting in queue.
The government has been pushing these two initiatives in its bid to check air pollution and reduce traffic congestion at toll plazas.
Both the meetings were chaired by road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari and was attended by Petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan and food minister Ram Vilas Paswan.
Sources said India's annual ethanol requirement is around 300 crore litres and there is a need to push its production and to put in place a robust plan to market it effectively.
"It was decided that petroleum ministry will bring out a policy regarding ethanol production from various agri-sources. The ethanol demand is likely to increase to 400 to 500 crore litres per annum," an official said.
The transport ministry is also pushing for vehicles that can use flexi-fuel, which means these can ply on petrol, diesel or 100% ethanol.
It was also decided that petroleum ministry will float a proposal for production of methanol from coal, which is cheaper.On increasing use of FASTags for vehicle, it was decided that all departments concerned will issue administrative order making it mandatory for all trucks contracted by entities such as Food Corporation of India, Petroleum and mines departments to fit FASTags.
Petroleum ministry has already implemented this to some extent - 46,000 trucks have got them.
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