Gadkari vows to eliminate petrol, diesel vehicles

NEW DELHI: As part of making India a green economy, Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India, vowed to slash GST on hybrid vehicles and get rid of over 36 crore petrol and diesel vehicles. “One hundred per cent,” Gadkari stated when asked whether it is possible for India to get rid of petrol and diesel cars altogether.

“It is difficult but not impossible. This is my vision,” Gadkari said in an interview to PTI.

He said India spends Rs 16 lakh crore on fuel imports. “This money will be used for improving the life of farmers, villages will be prosperous and the youth will get employment,” the minister said.

Gadkari did not give any timeline to meet this ambitious target.

The proposal to reduce GST on hybrid vehicles to five per cent and to 12 per cent for flex engines has been sent to the finance ministry which is considering the requisition, Gadkari said.

The minister said he firmly believes the country can end fuel import by promoting the use of biofuels.

Environmental activists welcomed Gadkari’s vision for increasing green mobility, but also struck a word of caution by flagging the use of fossil fuels in the production of electricity.

“In India, we are still heavily dependent on a fossil fuel-based energy system to power electric cars, and this needs to be changed. There is urgent need to ensure 100 per cent renewable energy alongside electric vehicles to tackle the climate crisis,” Avinash Chanchal, a campaigner for Greenpeace India, told PTI.

Gadkari said he has been pitching for alternative fuels since 2004 and is confident things will change in the coming five to seven years.

“I cannot give you a date and year for this transformation to take place as it is very difficult. This is difficult but not impossible,” Gadkari asserted.

He said he firmly believes that given the speed with which electric vehicles are being introduced, the coming era will be of alternative and biofuels and this dream will come true.