Keralam Begins Petrol Quality Checks After Karnataka Flags Excess Ethanol in E20 Fuel

The government of Kerala announced inspections of petrol pump stations in four districts to see if fuel is adulterated with ethanol above the prescribed limit, days after the state of Karnataka had said ethanol was found in samples from pump stations as high as 31.2%.

The inspections are in response to complaints by motorists of damage to their vehicles and concerns about fuel quality, and were ordered by the Congress-led government led by Chief Minister VD Satheesan. The state has cautioned petrol shops found flouting the standards to be shut and penalised.

The samples of petrol will be sent to the government laboratories for testing.

On Monday, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Anoop Jacob said that petrol samples were being taken from petrol pumps across Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam, Kozhikode and Kannur.

Jamshedpur's samples will be handed to the government laboratories and the report will be received in the next 10 days, PTI quoted a source as saying.

The inspections are needed to respond to concerns by the public on possible excess ethanol blending in petrol, Jacob said. There are no reports of any cases where the ethanol content was found to be over the permissible limit in Kerala yet, he said, adding that the number of such reports is expected to rise in the coming days.

The minister also threatened punishment would be meted out to outlets that sell fuel containing too much ethanol.

In the Indian State of Karnataka, the Controversy was triggered by Tests

The inspections in Kerala follow allegations by Karnataka Food and Civil Supplies Minister Rizwan Arshad on November 6 that ethanol content up to 31.2% was found in petrol samples from seven districts in the state.

The Karnataka government has said 63 samples had been taken from fuel stations of various oil companies. According to Arshad, the ethanol content in some of the samples was found to be higher than the E20 mark or 20% of ethanol in petrol and in IO samples it was 31.2% while in HP samples it was 30.5%.

The results led to the demand of action by oil companies and compensation for the motorists said to be affected by the fuel from Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar.

Oil Marketing Companies Reject Karnataka's Findings

Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation on 6th November denied Karnataka's claims.

The public sector oil marketing companies made this statement in a joint statement, stating that the allegations were not backed by tests carried out in line with the statutory and technical procedures. They claimed that their E20 petrol meets the specification of the BIS (IS 17021).

The Union Petroleum Ministry also challenged the findings of the Karnataka government. In a statement dated November 07, it announced that 27 states and Union Territories had all 893 samples tested for ethanol level and that the samples were found to be within the specified limit of 19% to 21% ethanol.

The ministry also reported that 56 samples that were tested in Karnataka also showed 19% to 20% ethanol content. It raised doubts about the state's testing process and requested for testing to be conducted together and verified independently.

E20 Programme Under Fire Once More

The controversy put the Centre's ethanol-blending initiative back into news. Across the country, the E20 petrol has been criticised for its impact on fuel economy, compatibility with older engines and maintenance requirements by motorists and opposition political parties.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has also slammed the Centre over Karnataka's complaints, alleging that the Centre was selling petrol with a higher ethanol level than the target.

The government, however, has counter-argued that ethanol blending is helpful to lower dependence on imported crude oil, energy security and agricultural value chain.

Now that it has self-adopted its own inspections, petrol quality and the extent of compliance with the E20 standard are likely to be discussed in light of the results of its own laboratory testing.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Susmita Modak

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Always love to raise the unraised matter. In a world of worries, I am always ready to come over my comfort zone and taking the step ahead of spreading awareness.

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