The joy of reduced fuel prices was short-lived, as the reduction in petrol and diesel prices was revised – to just 1 paisa a litre – on Wednesday, 30 May. State-owned oil companies blamed clerical error for previously announcing a cut of up to 60 paise, reported PTI.
Oil companies announced reduction in petrol price by 60 paise to Rs 77.83 a litre and diesel by 56 paise to Rs 68.75 in Delhi. Within hours of the announcement, they revised the cut to just 1 paisa.
The reduction was supposed to be 1 paisa but due to a clerical error, the price prevalent on 25 May was communicated as today’s price.Senior official of Indian Oil Corp to PTI
The revised fuel prices in Delhi and Mumbai, as of 30 May, are as follows:
- Petrol in Delhi: Rs 78.42/litre
- Diesel in Delhi: Rs 69.30/litre
- Petrol in Mumbai: Rs 86.23/litre
- Diesel in Mumbai: Rs 73.78/litre
The marginal reduction comes after 16 consecutive price increases since 14 May when fuel retailers ended a 19-day pre-Karnataka poll hiatus to pass on a spike in global oil rates.
In all, petrol price was increased by Rs 3.8 per litre and diesel by Rs 3.38 in that fortnight.
Prices vary from state to state depending on local sales tax or VAT. Delhi has the cheapest fuel prices among all metros and most state capitals.
Rahul Gandhi Hits Out at PM
Congress president Rahul Gandhi took to Twitter to blame Prime Minister Narendra Modi for slashing the fuel prices by 1 paisa.
However, the oil prices in India are not controlled by the central government but by state oil companies.
Rising Oil Prices Attributed to Crude Oil Prices
Although the persistent rise in domestic fuel prices is attributed to high crude oil prices, in the last few days, prices of crude have receded, raising hopes of eventual ease in domestic fuel prices. The price of Brent crude oil declined around $5 per barrel from 24 May to around $75 a barrel on Monday, 28 May.
Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had earlier said that the government will find a solution to the rising fuel prices in the country. He also pointed out that the rise in the prices of petrol were due to factors like hike in crude prices in the international market.
Pradhan suggested bringing petrol under the ambit of Goods and Services Tax (GST) to control prices, but imposing GST will not be possible until a general consensus is drawn by the GST council, he said.
(With inputs from news agencies)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)