Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and Worli MLA Aaditya Thackeray wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, 16 July, urging the Centre to restore consumer choice in fuel by making 100 per cent pure petrol available at pumps alongside the existing ethanol-blended alternatives. The letter challenges the compulsory nature of India's Ethanol Blending Programme (EBP), which has reached a nationwide E20 mandate — a blend of 20 per cent ethanol and 80 per cent petrol.

The Consumer Grievance

Thackeray argued that millions of vehicle owners — particularly youth and middle-class families who have invested years of savings and long-term EMIs into their automobiles — are being forced to run their vehicles on fuel they were never engineered to handle. He cited widespread public complaints of lower mileage and degraded engine performance following the scale-up of ethanol blending.

Critically, Thackeray pointed to the Centre's own documentation: government FAQs reportedly acknowledge a 3–5 per cent reduction in fuel economy for certain vehicles running on higher ethanol blends. A large share of vehicles currently on Indian roads, he noted, were manufactured before flex-fuel compatibility became a design consideration.

Environmental and Water Concerns

Beyond the immediate impact on vehicle owners, the former Maharashtra Environment Minister raised questions about the ecological sustainability of scaling up ethanol production. He specifically flagged India's growing dependence on sugarcane — one of the country's most water-intensive crops — to meet ethanol manufacturing targets. This, he argued, poses a serious concern at a time when multiple regions across India are experiencing acute water shortages.

Allegations of Policy Capture

Thackeray also raised a pointed political concern: a growing public perception, he wrote, that the current ethanol blending policy disproportionately benefits specific industrial lobbies and corporate entities rather than ordinary consumers. He called on the Centre to address these concerns with full transparency, and to make the policy's beneficiary structure publicly accountable.

What Thackeray Has Proposed

Drawing on international precedents where consumers freely select fuel based on vehicle compatibility, Thackeray proposed a two-option system at fuel retail outlets: 100 per cent pure petrol for older, standard, or non-compatible vehicles, and ethanol-blended petrol for consumers who opt in or own compatible flex-fuel vehicles. He argued this would protect consumer rights, prevent mechanical damage to pre-existing automobiles, and rebuild public confidence in India's sustainability transition.

The letter arrives as the EBP — long championed by the government as a pathway to energy independence and foreign exchange savings — faces mounting friction from consumers and the agricultural sector alike. Whether the Centre responds with a policy revision or defends the mandate's current structure will be closely watched.