Hyderabad, July 12: The BJP national executive member and former Union minister, Mr Bandaru Dattatreya, on Sunday urged the State government to take immediate steps to ensure kerosene supply to poor people by refixing kerosene sale price in the State. He also urged the Chief Minister, Mr K Rosaiah, to give Rs 3 subsidy to the poor kerosene consumers.
Addressing a press conference here today, Mr Dattatreya stated that the Union government has increased kerosene price by Rs 3 per liter along with other petroleum products like petrol, diesel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from June 26. He said that while retail prices of petrol, diesel and LPG have been re-fixed instantly, the kerosene price has not been re-fixed by the State government for the past 15 days. As a result, the poor and hapless kerosene consumers are denied kerosene supply from July 1 for want of re-fixation of uniform kerosene price.
Pointing out that uniform pricing system for kerosene was in vogue in the State since 1996, the former Union minister stated that the “highly callous and irresponsible attitude of the State government in re-fixation of kerosene price was not only shocking, but also deserves condemnation. It is nothing but holding public to ransom. The delay in re-fixing the kerosene price was unprecedented and shows that the government functioning in very poor light,” he added.
Stating that the State government would get a huge bonanza of Rs 365 crores per annum from the additional VAT collections on account of steep increase in the prices of petroleum products, Mr Dattatreya stressed the need to subsidise kerosene price to the poor consumers. If conceded, the kerosene subsidy would take only a fraction of that huge bonanza from VAT, he added.
——–NSS