Lab tests conducted across Karnataka discovered that several petrol stations exceeded the allowed ethanol blend in petrol.
On Friday, state food and civil supplies and legal metrology minister Rizwan Arshad shared the results for samples collected from 63 petrol bunks across Karnataka. The minister claimed that an estimated 10% drop in mileage due to ethanol blending would cost consumers as much as Rs 62,000 crore, based on petrol sales of 6,200 crore litres between April 2025 and April 2026 at Rs 100-110 per litre.
Arshad said under the directives of chief minister DK Shivakumar, his department conducted the inspections across Karnataka. “The results have raised serious concerns over transparency, regulatory compliance, and consumers’ right to know what goes in the fuel [they’re using],” Arshad added. IOCL, BPCL and HPCL said Friday E20 petrol supplied by them across India, including in Karnataka, conforms to the Bureau of Indian Standards specification.
The three public sector Oil Marketing Companies also raised concerns about the sampling procedure and methodology adopted for the tests.
They said the Oct samples were collected without OMC representatives and that the companies had not received outlet-wise reports, retention samples or details needed to verify the results. They also questioned whether the third-party lab used the prescribed testing method.