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UP slashes fuel prices

Chief Minister Mayawati addressing a press conference in Lucknow on Saturday.

LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh Government has reduced the sales tax on diesel by 4.84 per cent and on petrol by 2.38 per cent and withdrawn the 4 per cent value added tax (VAT) on domestic cooking gas cylinders. The new sales tax rates have become applicable with immediate effect.

Following the Government’s decision approved by the Cabinet on Saturday, the price of diesel in the State would come down by Rs.1.50 per litre and that of petrol by Rs.1 per litre. An LPG cylinder will become cheaper by Rs.11.35 paise.

Despite the increase in the price of diesel by the UPA Government at the Centre earlier in the week, which has left an additional burden of Rs.120 crore on the Uttar Pradesh State Roadways Corporation (UPSRTC), the State Government decided against increasing the bus fare.

It is estimated that in the wake of these decisions the UP Government will incur a revenue loss of Rs.2500 crore per year.

Stating that the decisions were taken to grant relief to the common man, Chief Minister Mayawati told reporters on Saturday that the revenue loss would leave an adverse impact on the ongoing development projects. She said the pace of progress would slow down, and there was a likelihood of withdrawing some of the development schemes for want of funds. Ms. Mayawati held the UPA Government responsible for the present crisis. The Chief Minister said the impact of scaling down the sales tax would not be felt by the Congress-ruled States as the UPA Government was there to bail them out by channelling funds through “the backdoor”.

The financial crunch would be felt more by the Bahujan Samaj Party and other non-Congress governments in other States as it is certain that the Centre would not extend financial relief to UP, Ms. Mayawati charged. The Chief Minister reiterated her longstanding demand for the Rs.80,000-crore economic package from the Centre. She said almost a year had passed but the Centre was yet to take a decision on it.

The Cabinet on Saturday also approved construction of a university for the handicapped. The university, to be built in Lucknow, would be developed by the State Government and would be named after Shakuntala Mishra, the mother of Satish Chandra Mishra, Chairman of the Uttar Pradesh Advisory Council. Earlier, the university was to be developed on the public-private partnership model.

Meanwhile, the pension for World War II veterans and war widows has been raised from Rs.1,000 per month to Rs.2,500 per month.

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