My mind is 200 crores a month: Nitin Gadkari

Nagpur, September 14 (IANS). Union Road Transport and Minister of Highways, Nitin Gadkari, on Sunday described the criticism of the government’s Ethanol-Congress petrol program as politically motivated. Gadkari said his brain is ‘Rs 200 crore a month’ and that he has no shortage of money. In his speech at an event organized by the Agricos Welfare Society in Nagpur, he said: “My mind is Rs 200 crore a month. I have no shortage of money and do not fall off.” His remarks came amid criticism of the government’s efforts to ethanol-Bralanded petrol. The government emphasized that 20 percent ethanol E20 mixed gasoline is a clean fuel and enabled farmers to get better prices for its crops such as sugarcane and maize. Critics claim that this program will cause water scarcity and that vehicles will be damaged. He also claimed that two large ethanol enterprises were run by Gadkari’s sons. Gadkari said without referring directly to the dispute: “I suggest my sons, but don’t use fraud.” The minister said: “My son recently imported 800 containers from Iran and exported 1,000 containers to Iran from India. There is no financial transaction with Iran. My son works as an import export. I have a sugar factory, a distillery and a power station. I do not experiment in agriculture for personal benefits.” Gadkari talked about his efforts to encourage local vegetable sellers to establish fruit centers in Nagpur. He said that such an initiative strengthened traders and farmers by enabling direct sales in large places in the city. He said, “I don’t do all this for my earnings. My income is sufficient. My brain costs 200 crores a month. I have no shortage of money.” He further said that his commercial proposals were not inspired by benefits, but were inspired by development. At the annual Delhi Conference in Indian Car manufacturers, Gadkari said that all tests confirmed that 20 percent of the ethanol brand (E20) had no problem in introducing gasoline. The minister said the production of ethanol from sugarcane, maize and rice increased the prices of these crops, which increased the income of farmers. He said that in the case of maize alone, farmers earned Rs 45,000 crore due to increasing demand and increase in prices after getting permission to use as input for ethanol production. He also said that ethanol brand has reduced pollution, and the issue was also raised at the G20 conference, which shows that the awareness of this success has been accepted worldwide. Gadkari further said that the Supreme Court also rejected petitions that disputed the validity and safety of E20 fuel. -Ians Sch/DSC