NEW DELHI, Nov 9: After the Karnataka government’s allegations that petrol sold by several Centre-controlled oil companies contained ethanol far in excess of the prescribed 20 Per Cent limit, the Kerala government has also begun random checking of fuel outlets to determine ethanol levels.
The Kerala Food and Civil Supplies Minister Anoop Jacob on Monday announced random inspections at fuel outlets in four districts – Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam, Kozhikode and Kannur. Both the Karnataka and the Kerala governments are under the Congress control.
According to the Thiruvananthapuram District Supply Officer Smitha S.R., samples are being collected from two pumps in the district, which will be sent to a lab accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) for analysis. “We have completed a sample collection from one of the pumps. Samples from one more pump will be collected,” she said.
In samples collected in Karnataka, the level of ethanol in some cases was found to be as high as 31.2%, raising questions about transparency in the ethanol-blended petrol being sold to consumers across the country. The Commissioner of Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs as well as Taluk Supply Officers have the powers to conduct inspections and initiate legal action as per a 2014 notification issued by the State government.
Mr Jacob said the sample analysis would be completed in a time-bound manner, with results expected within 10 days. He said the government decided to go ahead with the inspections considering the developments in Karnataka as well as the complaints and concerns raised by consumers regarding possible damage to their vehicles due to contaminated fuel.
(Manas Dasgupta)