11th Sep 2018 08:09:PM Editorials
Eastern Sentinel Arunachal News

 
 
 
Even as the Congress and other opposition parties sponsored Bharat Bandh to protest against the surging petrol and diesel prices was in progress, fuel rates hit fresh record highs on Monday. Petrol prices crossed Rs. 88 per litre in Mumbai,  Rs. 80.73 per litre in Delhi, Rs. 83.91 per litre in Chennai and Rs. 83.61 per litre in Kolkata. Diesel was being sold at a price of Rs. 72.83 per litre in Delhi, Rs.77.32 in Mumbai, Rs. 76.98 in Chennai and Rs. 75.68 in Kolkata.
Except for a halt on September 5, fuel prices have been hiked almost daily over the past many months. The drop in rupee value and the rise in crude oil rates are mainly responsible for the rise in fuel prices, argues the government. But this is far from the truth. While rupee fall has impacted the imports of all commodities, the crude prices are hovering around 77 dollar per barrel which was more than 120 dollar per barrel during the second term of the UPA government. Even so, prices had not reached this level at that time.
So who is the culprit for the rising prices of the petro-products? According to oil refining companies, the price of a litre of petrol at the gate of the companies is Rs. 40. 50. That means the consumer is paying 100 per cent extra for that petrol when it reaches the petrol pumps. Where does this money go?  Rs. 20 per litre to the Central government as excise duty and the rest to state governments as VAT. So petrol and diesel have become the milch cows for the governments. And the government of India or other state governments refuses to cut the taxes. A recent report by news agency PTI quoted a top government official as saying that the government will not cut excise duty on petrol and diesel to cushion spiralling prices, as it has limited fiscal space available to take any dent in revenue collections. So, dear consumers, please bear with the government till the fiscal balance is achieved. 


Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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