The Karnataka government\u2019s recent investigation into the ethanol<\/a> content of fuel dispensed at various petrol outlets in the State, and subsequent claim that it exceeded the 20 per cent limit in several instances, has sparked off a major controversy. While the oil companies rejected this claim and criticised the methodology, the Karnataka government has stood its ground. This has come just months after a massive uproar against the very use of E20<\/a> petrol (a blended fuel consisting of 20 per cent ethanol and 80 per cent standard petrol), which could reduce mileage and damage vehicles, usually older models, that are not compatible with it.<\/p>\n Speaking to Frontline<\/i>, Karnataka\u2019s Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Minister Rizwan Arshad, who spearheaded the drive, elaborated on the investigation, his criticism of the oil companies and the Narendra Modi-led Central government, and the State government\u2019s next move. Excerpts:<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe system is such that oil companies supply fuel and also certify their own quality. In order to determine the quantity of ethanol in the fuel, we collected 63 samples across the State through an understanding with oil marketing companies [OMCs] and petroleum dealers and gave those samples to the OMCs.\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThey did not give a clear answer on the percentage of ethanol blended for any one of the 63 samples. That made us suspicious. What options were left with us? We had to collect more samples as per the law, which were jointly collected by all three parties, duly signed in the proforma. The testing was conducted by an NABL-accredited third-party lab. The result was that ethanol was being blended up to 31.2 per cent.\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tE20-compliant vehicles are being produced in the country from 2023 onwards. Out of the 35 crore vehicles in India, how many are E20-compliant? Very few. Then why are they only pushing E20 fuel for [older] vehicles? What happens to the engines of vehicles made for pure petrol [those manufactured before 2008]? The performance of the engine will reduce and repair costs will soar.\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, which produces E20-compliant vehicles, has written to the Central government that sulphur and chloride content in the ethanol-blended fuel is high, and that vehicles are facing issues. That means they are either unofficially exceeding the 20 per cent ethanol limit, or those engines are not able to deal with E20 fuel.\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSince this transition takes time, we feel the government should first work on the infrastructure and then on the fuel. Secondly, until everything is ready, give a choice for the consumer to choose between pure, E10, E20, and beyond E20 petrol.\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \n Civil Supplies Department officials collect petrol samples for quality inspection from an outlet in Thiruvananthapuram, Keralam, on November 9, 2026. \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSecondly, the Central government\u2019s faulty policies have resulted in many influential persons owning ethanol-producing factories. They produce a lot of ethanol, but the infrastructure is not yet ready for ethanol blending. It is also quite expensive.\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe Centre has pushed ethanol-producing factories so much that our ethanol, I am told, is more expensive than it is on the international market. If you don\u2019t blend it, where will it go? The Central government should prioritise the common people\u2019s interest instead of the lobbies\u2019.\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSecondly, we request the Central government to work on the infrastructure needed for ethanol blending. By a conservative estimate of a 10 per cent drop in mileage for a vehicle, consumers will lose over Rs.60,000 crore per year. A monthly repair cost of around Rs.2,000-3,000 will cause a loss of over Rs.40,000 crore for users (cumulatively). The deadline for E20 was 2030, but the Central government has reduced it by five years. This is causing problems for the public.\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThey have also noted that the calibration can also be done by government-approved test centres. If any such centre does it, there will be a conflict of interest. A lot of things can happen between dealers and government-approved test centres. We mentioned that too, to the Central government, but they have not replied.\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Also Read | Ethanol blending: Who gains and who pays?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Also Read | The other ethanol crisis<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOf late, you have seriously taken up issues concerning the quality and quantity of the petrol dispensed to the public. What prompted the current investigation by the State government?<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe entire petroleum business is non-transparent. Consumers do not have a mechanism of knowing the exact quantity and quality. During our inspection, we found, to our dismay, that 85 per cent of the [fuel] guns were not dispensing the correct quantity. Then we also ventured into checking the quality.\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWere the OMC representatives present on both occasions?<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYes, and they have signed the proforma.\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe oil companies and the BJP claim that the tests you conducted are limited to the \u201cgas chromatography\u201d procedure, without going into details. Additionally, the OMCs have asked how the density for E26-E31 fuel was less than that for E20, which they measured, since ethanol is more dense than petrol.<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThey can technically say anything. The lab has used gas chromatography. They say that this is the right method. I went to the OMCs first, gave them 63 samples, and requested a test result. In response, they were ambiguous, vague, and tried to dodge us. We selected the samples and their representative signed on the proforma. They also have a set of the samples. If the density recorded in the proforma was different from the one seen in the result, one could doubt the labs. But that hasn\u2019t changed.\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tA few months ago, there was a big controversy over E20 itself. What is the Karnataka government\u2019s official position on E20?<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWe are not against blending ethanol with petrol. However, engines should be able to digest ethanol-inclusive petrol. Petrol pumps must possess the required infrastructure to dispense such fuel. Brazil, for example, is blending up to 30 per cent ethanol (E30). But they took 50 years (beginning in 1975) to reach that stage by producing ethanol-complaint vehicles and created the infrastructure. Here, the Modi government is pushing the fuel without building the necessary infrastructure.\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n![\"Civil](\"https:\/\/fl-i.thgim.com\/public\/incoming\/z4l5db\/article71697523.ece\/alternates\/FREE_1200\/keralam-fuel-inspection.jpg\" "\\"Civil")
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\n | Photo Credit:
\n PTI\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYou have termed it a conflict of interest for oil companies to both test and sell oil. Do you also consider Union Minister Nitin Gadkari promoting ethanol-blended fuel as a conflict of interest as his sons run agro-industrial and distillery businesses?<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOf course. Nitin Gadkariji was promoting ethanol and speaks more about ethanol than the Petroleum Minister himself. Let him propagate ethanol and its advantages. However, your own children are running ethanol-producing factories, and you, as a Union Minister, are promoting it. There is some sort of a conflict of interest here.\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYou have made strong claims and stood by them. What next?<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVery soon, I shall write to the Central government, hoping that they take note of this. We are seeking a system where OMCs can test their fuel for quality checking but not for compliance, which concerns the consumers. There has to be a third-party independent testing mechanism established in every State where the fuel quality is tested randomly, time and again, and reports are shared.\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHow confident are you of a favourable reply from the Central government?<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tIf the Central government acts in the interest of the people, they will give a favourable reply.\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tIf not, how will you proceed?<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThen we will go all out, keep testing and bringing out things. As a State government elected by the people, we are responsible for protecting their rights. Once I revealed this, they should have sought full information with an intention to rectify if things are wrong. What\u2019s my personal interest in this? I am a youngster who recently became a Minister and am enthusiastic to work. I am aware that I am fighting a mighty government having IT, ED, CBI, NIA, etc. The vindictive reputation of this government regarding its political rivals is well known. If this was not genuine, why would I take such a risk?\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOnce you came out with this, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi picked this up, while the Congress government in Keralam is also proceeding along similar lines. However, is there a national-level consensus within the INDIA bloc on this?<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tI am happy that Rahul Gandhiji has taken it up. That means he has endorsed an issue where people are suffering. I am sure he will fearlessly raise this issue in Parliament and hold the government accountable.\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRegarding the issue of some petrol-dispensing guns not delivering the required quantity of fuel, you had urged the Central government to reduce the error tolerance levels from 0.5 per cent to 0.3 per cent, as in some Western countries. What was the response?<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tI am pained to say that the Central government hasn\u2019t replied to any of my suggestions. We had also told the Central government that we cannot follow their guidelines of calibrating fuel-dispensing guns once in two years, as against the earlier one-year rule.\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
![\"Karnataka](\"https:\/\/frontline.thehindu.com\/theme\/images\/fl-online\/1x1_spacer.png\"\/ "\\"Karnataka")
<\/picture><\/div>\n\n Karnataka Minister for Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Rizwan Arshad addresses a press conference in Bengaluru on November 6 on the findings regarding ethanol blending.
\n | Photo Credit: The Hindu\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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