SC to hear plea seeking mandatory disclosure of ethanol content in petrol on August 31

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a petition on August 31 seeking a directive to the Centre and others to ensure mandatory and uniform labelling on every dispensing nozzle at petrol pumps, disclosing the exact percentage of ethanol in petrol.

According to the Supreme Court's causelist of August 31, the plea would come up for hearing before a bench comprising Justices M.M. Sundresh and Prasanna B. Varale. The petition, filed by Narendra Kumar Goswami, has also sought a direction that every fuel invoice should specifically and legibly state the percentage of ethanol in the petrol sold.

"Direct the respondents [Centre and others] to prepare and publish within a stipulated time an official, public, vehicle-wise compatibility database searchable by manufacturer, model, engine type and year of manufacture, indicating the suitability or otherwise of various ethanol blends for each vehicle," the plea said.

It has also sought constitution of an independent expert committee comprising representatives from the Ministries of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Road Transport and Highways, the Bureau of Indian Standards and others, including independent automobile engineers, to examine and submit a public report on real-world vehicle compatibility of E20 across the existing fleet.

The plea said the committee should also submit a report on the impact on fuel efficiency, engine longevity and maintenance costs, warranty and insurance implications, the net environmental footprint, including tail-pipe emissions and water consumption associated with ethanol production, and food-security and feed-diversion concerns allegedly arising from the blending programme.

"Direct the respondents to frame a national consumer disclosure protocol for all ethanol-blended petrol, in consultation with the Central Consumer Protection Authority and the Bureau of Indian Standards," it said. It also sought directions to the concerned authorities to place before the Supreme Court all policy files, technical studies, compatibility reports, safety standards, consumer advisories and records of public consultation that support the compulsory roll-out of E20.

The plea called on authorities to formulate and publish within a time-bound period a transparent transition framework for legacy and non-compatible vehicles, including consideration of designated availability of lower ethanol petrol wherever technically, economically and logistically feasible, together with a reasoned decision supported by expert material and public consultation.