Diesel price 37 paise cheaper in Delhi, LPG rebate only for poorest
- 5 years ago
NEW DELHI: The state government on Monday offered marginal relief to residents reeling under the double blow of higher diesel and cooking gas (LPG) prices. Diesel will now cost Rs 40.75 per litre in the city, 37 paise or 0.9% less than its post-hike price of Rs 41.12. Before the hike, diesel cost Rs 37.75.
The rebate on LPG is far more substantial - Rs 40 per cylinder or around 10 per cent of the post-hike price. However , this benefit is available to only the poorest of the city's poor registered under the below poverty line (BPL) and Antyodaya schemes. In all, some 4.8 lakh families in an overall population of 1.67 crore people will benefit from the price reduction. Thus, while the poor will now pay Rs 355.35 for an LPG cylinder, everyone else will shell out Rs 395.35.
The Centre had hiked the price of diesel by Rs 3 a litre and that of LPG by Rs 50 per cylinder last week.
After her cabinet decided to reduce fuel prices on Monday , chief minister Sheila Dikshit, who holds the finance portfolio, said the subsidy on LPG cylinders will benefit four lakh BPL families and around 80,000 Antyodaya families.
She said the government had to offer a subsidy on LPG as Delhi does not levy value added tax (VAT).
Delhi now becomes the third state after West Bengal and Haryana to announce a reduction in prices of petroleum products. Under attack from all sides for raising the fuel prices, Congress on Saturday had asked party-ruled states to reduce taxes on petroleum products to give a reprieve to the common man.
In West Bengal, chief minister Mamata Banerjee withdrew sales tax on LPG, bringing down the price of a cylinder by Rs 16. Haryana on Sunday waived the 5 per cent VAT on kerosene, which had become dearer by Rs 2 a litre.
Asked about the 'minimal' cut in diesel prices, Dikshit indicated that the government wanted to keep room for providing relief in case of future hikes in prices of petroleum products.
Senior Delhi government officials said the government decided to forgo the 12.5% VAT on the increased price of diesel. The 12.5% levy on the Rs 3 increase in price amounted to roughly 37 paise. The government said it expected to lose around Rs 36 crore in revenue as a result of this waiver.
Meanwhile, the state government's relief to the common man has left NGOs, experts on food security and other activists unimpressed. Biraj Patnaik, who is part of the Right to Food committee of the Supreme Court, said the measures will have hardly any impact.
"If the government wanted to benefit the weaker sections , it should have extended the relief to all those families identified under the state's own Mission Convergence survey as vulnerable and most vulnerable. There are about 9.5 lakh such families. Why only BPL and Antyodaya card holders?" he said.
The rebate on LPG is far more substantial - Rs 40 per cylinder or around 10 per cent of the post-hike price. However , this benefit is available to only the poorest of the city's poor registered under the below poverty line (BPL) and Antyodaya schemes. In all, some 4.8 lakh families in an overall population of 1.67 crore people will benefit from the price reduction. Thus, while the poor will now pay Rs 355.35 for an LPG cylinder, everyone else will shell out Rs 395.35.
The Centre had hiked the price of diesel by Rs 3 a litre and that of LPG by Rs 50 per cylinder last week.
After her cabinet decided to reduce fuel prices on Monday , chief minister Sheila Dikshit, who holds the finance portfolio, said the subsidy on LPG cylinders will benefit four lakh BPL families and around 80,000 Antyodaya families.
She said the government had to offer a subsidy on LPG as Delhi does not levy value added tax (VAT).
Delhi now becomes the third state after West Bengal and Haryana to announce a reduction in prices of petroleum products. Under attack from all sides for raising the fuel prices, Congress on Saturday had asked party-ruled states to reduce taxes on petroleum products to give a reprieve to the common man.
In West Bengal, chief minister Mamata Banerjee withdrew sales tax on LPG, bringing down the price of a cylinder by Rs 16. Haryana on Sunday waived the 5 per cent VAT on kerosene, which had become dearer by Rs 2 a litre.
Asked about the 'minimal' cut in diesel prices, Dikshit indicated that the government wanted to keep room for providing relief in case of future hikes in prices of petroleum products.
Senior Delhi government officials said the government decided to forgo the 12.5% VAT on the increased price of diesel. The 12.5% levy on the Rs 3 increase in price amounted to roughly 37 paise. The government said it expected to lose around Rs 36 crore in revenue as a result of this waiver.
Meanwhile, the state government's relief to the common man has left NGOs, experts on food security and other activists unimpressed. Biraj Patnaik, who is part of the Right to Food committee of the Supreme Court, said the measures will have hardly any impact.
"If the government wanted to benefit the weaker sections , it should have extended the relief to all those families identified under the state's own Mission Convergence survey as vulnerable and most vulnerable. There are about 9.5 lakh such families. Why only BPL and Antyodaya card holders?" he said.