The Union government on Tuesday rejected media reports claiming that it had told the Supreme Court that its 20% Ethanol Blended Petrol programme was “still an ongoing experiment” and that its impact would become clearer next year. It said that the reports did not accurately reflect the submissions made by Attorney General R Venkataramani. The Ministry of Law and Justice said the reports were “completely false and do not reflect anything even close to the actual submissions made before [the Supreme Court]”.The clarification came after the Supreme Court heard a petition filed by state-owned Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited against a June 23 Karnataka High Court order on ethanol allocation for the 2025-’26 supply year, India Today reported.The High Court had directed Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited and Indian Oil Corporation to consider a distillery’s request for a higher ethanol allocation before finalising tenders for the supply year, the news outlet reported.Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited had argued that changing allocations after supply contracts have been finalised could affect the implementation of the national ethanol-blending programme.On Tuesday, the ministry said that during the hearing, the attorney general told the court that similar writ petitions involving allocation of ethanol to dedicated ethanol plants were pending before several high courts.The Supreme Court was told that transfer petitions would be filed to move all such cases to the apex court so they could be heard together, to avoid parallel proceedings and the possibility of conflicting decisions, it added.The government said the Supreme Court took note of the submission and observed that the proposed transfer petitions should be filed. It also directed that status quo be maintained on ethanol allocation for the current 2025-’26 Ethanol Supply Year in the case, the government said.The ministry added that “at no stage” was any submission made that the Ethanol Blended Petrol Programme was an “experiment”.The government’s programme currently mandates the sale of petrol blended with 20% ethanol, or E20 fuel.India hit its target of reaching a 20% ethanol mix in petrol in July 2025, five years ahead of schedule.This was part of India’s broader energy transition strategy aimed at reducing dependency on fossil fuels, cutting greenhouse gas emissions and boosting income for sugarcane farmers.Consumers have complained that the new fuel mix damages engines and reduces their mileage.A report in October, which analysed government and industry data, said that only about 20% of new petrol vehicles sold in India in the last 15 years were compliant with the E20 fuel blend.On December 11, Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari told Parliament that the government had tested older vehicles running fuel blended with 20% ethanol and found no case of engine failure.The vehicles covered almost 1 lakh km in the tests conducted by the government-run Automotive Research Association of India, the road transport minister said.Gadkari added that the research association had observed “no impact” of E20 fuel on the vehicles’ performance, start ability, drive ability and metal capability.Written by Tanya Shrivastava. Edited by Sara Varghese.Also read:Drivers fear engine damage, mileage drop as India increases ethanol in petrol to 20%Race to rollout E20 fuel leaves behind most vehicles on Indian roads