Bengaluru, 9 November

Standing strong on Karnataka’s claims that oil companies were blending more than the prescribed 20 per cent ethanol in petrol, Minister Rizwan Arshad asked how these firms could certify that the fuel was compatible for vehicles. 

“When oil companies test their own fuel in their own laboratories and declare themselves compliant, they are acting as both the accused and the judge,” he stated on Monday at a press conference. “That is a clear conflict of interest.”

Rizwan last week had said Karnataka conducted tests in various pumps in several districts across Karnataka. He had said that four out of five of the 63 tests conducted showed ethanol content higher than the prescribed 20 per cent limit (E20), with some samples showing levels of up to 31.2 per cent.

METHODOLOGY ROW 

Rizwan added that when the government approached the companies for tests, they did not disclose the ethanol content in their reports. 

“It was only then, out of compulsion, that we took the assistance of a third-party laboratory, one that is NABL-accredited and ISO-certified. The NABL accreditation agency itself is run by the Government of India," he told Salar News. “Now, after Karnataka exposed serious discrepancies through certified laboratory reports, the same companies are questioning our findings and proposing a joint inspection.”  

"To dispute the findings of an NABL-accredited laboratory is to say that laboratories approved under the Government of India's own accreditation system are not authentic," his release added.

The Centre and state-run oil marketing companies (OMCs) had alleged that Karnataka used a different methodology when testing, and claimed that over 800 tests across the country, including in Karnataka, had shown that ethanol content was within the prescribed limits. 

Rizwan said the companies were attempting to divert attention by questioning the sampling procedure and the credibility of the laboratory that tested the samples. The samples were collected in accordance with Clause 8 (3) of the Motor Spirit and High Speed Diesel (Regulation of Supply, Distribution and Prevention of Malpractices) Order, 2005.

CAN VEHICLES TOLERATE THIS? 

“When a company like BMW says their vehicles aren't made for E30, are you experimenting on consumers?” he told Salar News. 

Rizwan doubled down on his claim that motorists were paying an estimated Rs 1.01 lakh crore annually (including around Rs 62,000 crore in extra fuel costs and heavy vehicle repair expenses) due to ethanol blending.

“It’s simple chemistry. When you mix something into petrol, the mileage will reduce,” he said, alleging that vehicle mileage had declined by 20 to 30 per cent in some cases.

Rizwan questioned whether ordinary vehicles, particularly two-wheelers used by middle-class families, could withstand higher ethanol blends, and reiterated that companies were profiteering from vehicles increasingly breaking down. 

SPOT INSPECTIONS 

Rizwan argued that companies should do surprise inspections at pumps, arguing that it would only then that the truth would come out. He said that when Karnataka made the initial allegations, the entire BJP machinery came to the defence of oil companies. Keralam has already begun surprise inspections at its pumps. 

"The pattern is clear: question the policy, and you are silenced. Industry bodies and companies may step back under pressure, but Karnataka will not," Rizwan added.