Daijiworld Media Network - Porvorim

Porvorim, Sep 2: Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, who also holds the Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs portfolio, on Tuesday told the Goa Legislative Assembly that the state has not received a single complaint from consumers, vehicle owners, automobile associations or garages regarding E20 petrol since its introduction.

Sawant was replying to a calling attention motion moved by MLAs Venzy Viegas, Vijai Sardesai and Cruz Silva, who raised concerns over reduced mileage, performance issues and rising maintenance costs reportedly faced by owners of pre-2023 vehicles, particularly taxi drivers and motorcycle pilots. The MLAs also demanded that consumers be given the option of purchasing unblended petrol.

“E20 is a central government subject, governed by a central policy, which we have adopted since 2023,” Sawant said.

He added that although no complaint has been received so far, he would direct the Civil Supplies Department to check, verify and monitor the situation and conduct testing. Consumers facing problems with E20 petrol can approach the department, he said.

In his written reply, Sawant said E20 petrol has been supplied in Goa by three oil marketing companies through 157 retail outlets since 2025.

He said laboratory studies and field trials conducted by the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) and Indian Institute of Petroleum (IIP) have confirmed that E20 is safe, including for legacy vehicles, with no significant wear or performance loss.

For vehicles designed for E10 petrol, any reduction in mileage is “generally limited to about 3-5 per cent”, Sawant said. He added that vehicle manufacturers continue to honour warranties on vehicles running on E20 fuel.

Ethanol blending benefits

Citing central government data, Sawant said the ethanol blending programme has resulted in more than Rs 2 lakh crore in foreign exchange savings and helped reduce 952 lakh metric tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.

The programme has also transferred more than Rs 1.7 lakh crore to farmers, he said.

According to the data cited by the Chief Minister, more than 20 crore two-wheelers and three crore cars are currently running on blended fuel across the country, with no verified evidence of engine failure linked to the fuel.

Sawant further said more than 30,000 quality checks have recently been conducted at fuel outlets to check for adulteration.