Shimla, March 23 Consumers in Himachal Pradesh will have to pay more for petrol and high-speed diesel, as the Assembly passed a VAT amendment bill on Monday, which seeks to levy an "Orphan and Widow" cess of up to Rs 5 per litre on these two fuels, despite the opposition BJP staging a walkout.
The cess has been levied to ensure a dedicated, stable and sustainable source of revenue for effective implementation and strengthening of welfare measures for orphans and widows, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said in a statement.
Opposing the Himachal Pradesh Value Added Tax (Amendment) Bill 2006, Randhir Sharma (BJP) said that after the cess is levied, petrol and diesel would be more expensive in the state compared to neighboring states, leading to fuel inflation. He said that there was already a concern that the prices of petroleum products would increase due to the ongoing war between the US and Iran.
Opposing the Bill, leader of the Opposition, Jai Ram Thakur also said that there is a fear of a hike in petroleum prices due to the war in the Gulf, and the additional cess imposed by the state would badly affect the people. He also objected to the name of the Bill.
Trilok Jamwal (BJP) said that it would affect all sections, from truck drivers to ordinary people, while Satpal Singh Satti (BJP) said that it would put a burden on petrol pumps, and the prices of cement and other items would also increase. He added that the government is collecting money in the name of widows, which is not right.
Responding to the discussion on the Bill, Sukhu said that the Union government has also imposed a cess and has discontinued the Revenue Deficit Grants (RDF), and that the BJP should urge the Union government to reduce the cess.
He dubbed the BJP as anti-state and against the welfare of orphans and widows. The BJP members started raising slogans and staged a walkout.
