Karnataka CM Shivakumar Says Petrol Is Being Over-Blended With Ethanol at Pumps; Oil Companies and Centre Dispute the Tests

Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said Sunday, Nov. 8, that petrol sold in his state contains ethanol well above the approved 20% limit. He also said engines are failing and mileage is falling as a result.

"Engines are stopping again and again, and mileage has reduced," he told reporters. He said the state has received complaints from "thousands" of vehicle owners. He has not publicly produced those complaints or any vehicle-damage data.

The Centre and the country's three big state-run fuel retailers say the state is wrong.

What Karnataka says it found

The numbers came a day earlier. At a Bengaluru press conference on Saturday, Nov. 7, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Rizwan Arshad said the state had collected 63 petrol samples from various locations and oil companies. Of the 14 lab reports received so far, 11 showed ethanol above 20%, he said.

Two samples came in at 31.2% and 30.5%. Four exceeded 25%. Arshad named Bengaluru, Kolar, Chikkaballapura, Ramanagara, Mangaluru and Tumakuru among the sampling areas.

Shivakumar's account differs in detail. He put the number of sampling locations at 67 and said about 30% of the investigation is finished. He also said the state has told the Centre where it sampled.

On where the problem occurs, he went further than Arshad's focus on oil companies. "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," he said. His stated motive: "Because it is available at a lower price, they are mixing it to make a profit."

He said he was not raising the issue for political reasons. "I am not speaking as an opposition person like R Ashoka," he said.

Arshad demanded an explanation from Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri. He also asked for a review of the blending policy, compensation for owners who can prove damage, and mandatory display of ethanol percentage at every pump.

The Centre and the oil companies respond

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas said all 893 E20 samples drawn from public sector oil marketing companies across 27 states and Union Territories conformed to prescribed quality standards. Karnataka's Department of Food, Civil Supplies, Consumer Affairs and Legal Metrology had claimed that fuel at specific retail outlets contained 26% to 31% ethanol.

Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum issued a joint statement. They said E20 petrol supplied nationwide meets Bureau of Indian Standards requirements, and that blending is an automated process under statutory guidelines, not a manual one. They also said the state's sample collection and testing procedures were flawed.

Union Minister of State for Petroleum Suresh Gopi said the 20% approval rests on scientific and technical assessment. "We have approved 20, and the number will be increased gradually over time," he said. He added: "If technical issues are deliberately twisted for political purposes, we will see who ultimately ends up digging their own grave."

The two sides drew samples from different points in the chain. The Centre's figures come from samples drawn from the oil companies. Karnataka's come from retail outlets and oil company locations, according to Arshad.

Karnataka minister escalates

Priyank Kharge, another Karnataka minister, went further on Saturday. "The Government of India is lying through its teeth to the people," he said. He claimed accredited lab reports showed ethanol at 35% to 40% in some cases.

That is higher than the 31.2% peak Arshad cited the same day. No test report showing 35% to 40% has been made public.

Kharge also pointed to a submission the Solicitor General reportedly made to the Supreme Court, describing ethanol blending as an experiment whose results would come later. He asked how a nationwide fuel policy could be called experimental after rollout. He alleged consumers were being made part of that experiment without adequate information or consultation.

He further alleged the policy benefits companies linked to relatives of Union ministers. That is a political allegation. No wrongdoing by any company or individual has been established.

What the record does and does not show

Arshad has said only 14 of 63 samples have reports back. The state has not released the lab names, the sampling protocol or the chain-of-custody records, and the oil companies have already attacked the method.

The state's own explanation is also inconsistent. Arshad's remarks centered on oil companies supplying the fuel. Shivakumar says the mixing happens at pumps.

Separately, Karnataka's Legal Metrology Department found 101 of 805 inspected fuel stations in September violating fuel-delivery accuracy limits and registered cases. That crackdown concerned measurement of volume dispensed, not ethanol content.

Shivakumar said a Minister will hold a press conference Monday, Nov. 9, with full details and documents. Whether the state's reports, sampling records and lab accreditation can withstand the oil companies' challenge will be the first real test of the claim.