Bengaluru, Karnataka minister Rizwan Arshad on Monday said that the state government stood by its findings that oil marketing companies were blending more than the prescribed 20 per cent ethanol in petrol, with some samples showing levels of up to 31.2 per cent, and accused them of evading questions on the issue.
The minister also questioned the Centre’s silence and referred to Union Minister for Heavy Industries H D Kumaraswamy’s recent statement that a decision had been taken at the departmental level to increase ethanol blending to E30. “Is Kumaraswamy wrong. My question is whether oil marketing companies have been unofficially blending ethanol up to E30 even before formally announcing it as government policy,” he asked. “If you say that the fuel is E20, then give consumers exactly E20. The common man who pays for the fuel must get what has been promised to him. Do not deceive consumers by supplying fuel with E30 blending while claiming that it is E20.”
The minister for Food, Civil Supplies, Consumer Affairs and Legal Metrology said the state government had followed the prescribed sampling and testing procedures and challenged the OMCs to explain the actual ethanol content in 63 samples collected from petrol pumps across the state. “I want to assure everyone in the country that the government of Karnataka stands by its report and its claim that oil marketing companies are blending more than 20 per cent ethanol in petrol. The minister said the OMCs had reported a combined profit of ₹ 77,000 crore last year and questioned the circumstances behind the alleged higher blending.
This can cause serious damage to vehicle engines and place an additional financial burden on ordinary people,” Arshad told reporters. Defending the testing methodology, the minister said the samples were examined at an NABL-accredited and ISO-certified third-party laboratory after the OMCs failed to provide a clear response when the state initially approached them. He himself said that a decision had been taken three or four months ago. Stressing that ethanol blending itself was not opposed by the state government, he said consumers must be allowed to choose fuel based on their vehicle requirements.
