Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has stood by claims that petrol sold at some outlets in the state contains ethanol well above the approved E20 limit, saying a minister will release detailed findings and documents after samples were collected from 67 locations.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Shivakumar said the state government had received complaints that vehicles were repeatedly breaking down and delivering lower mileage. He said an investigation was under way and was around 30 per cent complete.
“We have checked; the mixing is happening at the petrol bunks. Where it is being distributed, mixing is happening there; we have all the documents,” Shivakumar said. He added that the issue was not being raised for political reasons and that the Centre had been informed about the locations from which samples were collected.
The Karnataka government’s claims conflict with a clarification from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. The ministry said all 893 E20 petrol samples collected from public-sector oil marketing companies across 27 states and Union Territories had conformed to prescribed quality standards.
The dispute follows findings attributed to Karnataka’s Department of Food, Civil Supplies, Consumer Affairs and Legal Metrology. The department reportedly found ethanol levels ranging from 26 per cent to 31 per cent in motor spirit sold at specific retail outlets in the state.
Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Hindustan Petroleum have said ethanol blending is a controlled and automated process carried out under statutory guidelines, rather than through manual intervention at fuel stations. Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Suresh Gopi has also said the Centre’s decision to approve 20 per cent blending was based on scientific and technical assessments, with any increase to be implemented gradually.
Shivakumar said the alleged excess blending could affect consumers across the country. “Because it is available at a lower price, they are mixing it to make a profit. We condemn this. It is dangerous. People need to be made aware and protected,” he said.
Congress leader Rajendra Pal Gautam separately alleged that ethanol levels could sometimes reach 40 per cent, citing information attributed to a petrol pump association representative. That claim was not independently established in the supplied report.
The immediate issue is whether the Karnataka samples represent isolated outlet-level deviations or a wider failure in fuel-quality control. The state government has said its minister will present the findings and supporting documents at a press conference on Monday, while the Centre and oil marketing companies continue to maintain that E20 supplies have met prescribed standards.
