Excess ethanol in petrol: Kerala to conduct surprise inspections at pumps

Thiruvananthapuram/Bengaluru: Karnataka and Kerala have stepped up action following complaints that petrol with ethanol content exceeding the permissible limit is being sold at fuel stations.

The Karnataka government has announced that it will make further disclosures on Monday regarding its findings of more than 31.2 per cent ethanol content in petrol. Meanwhile, the Kerala government has decided to conduct surprise inspections at fuel stations across the state on Monday to check whether petrol contains excess ethanol.

The inspections will cover different regions, including North Malabar, Malabar, central Kerala and southern Kerala. The fuel stations selected for inspection will not be disclosed in advance.

The inspections will be conducted by the Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs Commission. Six samples will be collected from each fuel station and sent to the State Forensic Laboratory for testing. Samples will also be sent to the laboratories of oil companies.

Officials have been given special training to measure ethanol content in petrol. The government has made it clear that strict action will be taken if fuel is found to contain ethanol beyond the permitted limit. The issue will also be raised at the central level.

Samples collected from some fuel stations in Kannur on Saturday have already been sent for testing. Minister Anoop Jacob took the decision to conduct the inspections after consulting Chief Minister VD Satheesan. Complaints of vehicles suffering widespread damage were also taken into consideration.

Public sector oil companies had earlier rejected the Karnataka government’s findings of more than 31.2 per cent ethanol content, arguing that the tests were not conducted in accredited laboratories and that prescribed procedures had not been followed.

Minister for Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs of Karnataka, Rizwan Arshad, said the government did not want to spoil the oil companies’ Diwali celebrations by issuing a detailed response at this stage. He said the government would provide a comprehensive reply after the festivities.

The minister said the government had resorted to tests at private laboratories to ascertain the facts after oil companies failed to provide clarity on the issue. He maintained that the exercise was undertaken by the government and not by any individual institution, and therefore the findings were authentic.