Bengaluru, November 9, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Karnataka Food, Civil Supplies, Consumer Affairs and Legal Metrology Minister Rizwan Arshad on Monday said the state government stood by its findings of alleged excessive ethanol blending in petrol and questioned the response issued by public sector oil marketing companies IOCL, BPCL and HPCL.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Arshad said the government had raised the issue in the interest of consumers and expected the Centre to respond with equal seriousness.
“The oil marketing companies have responded to our findings, but when an elected government raises an issue, the Central government should respond. We are a pro-people government and have raised this issue only to protect the interests of consumers. We have no personal or selfish interests in the matter,” he said.
Arshad said the state stood by both its testing findings and the methodology adopted. He accused the oil companies of focusing on technicalities instead of directly answering questions about the actual proportion of ethanol blended in petrol sold as E20.
“We have asked a straightforward question about the proportion of ethanol blending. You claim the fuel is E20, but you have not given a direct answer to this question. Instead, you are talking about technicalities. Whatever has been exposed by the state government and the methods adopted for testing, we stand firmly by our report,” he said.
Rejecting the oil companies’ reference to irregularities at certain fuel outlets, the minister said the issue was not about isolated petrol pumps or local-level adulteration. He argued that ethanol blending was a controlled and automated process managed by oil companies, and local dealers could not be held responsible for discrepancies in blending levels.
Arshad also questioned whether vehicles, particularly two-wheelers used by middle-class consumers, could support higher ethanol concentrations. He said the government had followed the prescribed legal procedure while collecting samples.
Under the sampling process, three samples were collected: one was handed over to the oil companies, one retained by the state government and the third sent to a laboratory. Arshad said oil company representatives and government officials signed the relevant documents, while density and other details were recorded.
The Karnataka government had launched Operation Nikhar to investigate ethanol concentrations in E20 petrol supplied at fuel stations across the state. Samples were collected from major oil brands in Bengaluru, Kolar, Chikkaballapura, Bengaluru Rural, Ramanagara, Mangaluru and Tumakuru.
Arshad said laboratory tests conducted through NABL-accredited and ISO-certified facilities had found ethanol concentrations exceeding the prescribed 20 per cent limit. The oil companies have questioned the state’s testing methodology and disputed its findings.
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