Latest Petrol price in Union Territory of Jammu Kashmir touches Rs.100.66 paise per litre while it is near or more in many places in the country. Prices of diesel too are high. It now sells near to Rs 90 in cities like Mumbai, it sells near to Rs 100. If this isn't enough cooking LPG cylinders prices registered another hike of Rs. 25 yesterday only. Despite much hue and cry by the public, the trend of hike in all fuel prices has been maintained with regularity.
The Congress and opposition parties have been attacking the government over the rise in petrol, diesel and LPG prices and have been demanding reduction in them by removing some of the taxes imposed by the central government.
Despite the record-high levels of fuel prices across the country, Narendra Modi-led BJP government doesn't seem to be worried. PM blamed the previous governments for their failure to reduce the country's large dependency on the import of petroleum products. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman blamed the oil bonds issued by the previous UPA government.
The previous UPA government issued oil bonds of around Rs 1.34 lakh crore — and the present government is talking about the burden of these. There has been, however, a rise in tax collections as a result of increased excise duty on petrol and diesel by the present dispensation.
Also, the blame laid by the current government for the fuel hike on the rise of international crude oil prices doesn't say the full truth. In the past too, when the international crude oil prices came down, the benefit wasn't passed to the common people as the government kept on increasing the excise duty on petrol and diesel to fill its coffers to fund welfare schemes and also for infrastructure projects.
The state governments too can't go scot-free by just passing the buck to the Centre. The state governments have been charging considerable VAT on fuel prices irrespective of political party ruling in the different states. So is the case of Jammu Kashmir that levies near 28 per cent tax on the fuel prices in the Union Territory. Surprisingly, the Municipal Corporations in Jammu and Kashmir too are not behind from biting their pound of flesh as they too have imposed a cess on the loaded Petrol Tankers leaving the depot located within the municipal limits.
Petroleum products prices in Jammu and Kashmir have been revising on a daily basis similar to other states in the country known as the ‘Dynamic Fuel Pricing' mechanism. Petrol is extensively utilised by private vehicles which constitute two-wheelers and four-wheelers. In the recent past, fuel consumption in the State has increased significantly with the rise in vehicular density. Various components influence the revision in petrol prices in the State.
Blaming the Congress governments won't solve the problem of price rise. Common people are eagerly awaiting relief from the price rise. Instead of only passing the buck of reducing excise duties on petrol and diesel towards the states, the Modi government should reduce the excise duties charged by it and also reduce the domestic LPG gas cylinder prices to curb the price rise.
