Petrol & diesel prices touch new high in Patna

PATNA: Petrol and diesel prices touched yet another record high in the state capital with the oil marketing companies increasing the fuel prices. Petrol was being sold at Rs87.89 per litre while diesel prices climbed up to Rs 80.69 per litre on Wednesday.
In just one week, the prices petrol and diesel in Patna has seen a rise of 97 paise and Rs1.2 per litre, respectively.In the lockdown period (between March and May last year) due to Covid-19, the prices of petrol and diesel remained constant at Rs74.23 per litre and Rs66.8 per litre, respectively. However, crude oil prices have maintained a rising trend since June last year.
Ajay Kumar, manager of a fuelling station near Dak Bungalow roundabout said, “The fuel prices keep rising and the present prices are so far the highest, if we compare the last year figures. In 2020, the highest price of diesel was recorded at Rs79.49 per litre on December 17 while it was Rs86.81 for of petrol per litre. After every two days, the prices increased,” he said.
Bihar Petroleum Dealers’ Association (BPDA) president Prabhat Kumar Singh said the present government has abolished the pricing norms for crude oil. “Earlier, the petrol and diesel prices were changed in line with the crude oil prices in the international market and the rupee-dollar exchange rate. Now, the established pricing norm to set the price of petro products is no longer being followed in the country,” he said.
Singh told this newspaper that there could be one reason behind the rise in fuel prices is to cover up the funds crisis that the Centre had endured during the lockdown by imposing higher excise duty tax, VAT, GST and other transportation charges. “There is no certainty in oil pricing, as the government keeps on increasing the prices after a gap of 2-3 days as per their need,” he said.
“If we consider an ideal zero tax situation (both central and state), then the base price of petrol and diesel would have to cost Rs30-35 per litre,” he added.
The experts opined that the rising fuel prices would not only affect the commuters, but also have cascading effects on the prices of other commodities.
DM Diwakar, an economist, told this newspaper that the government has no money to run the day-to-day business as the growth rate of the country is still flagging due to the unplanned lockdown and wrong policies. “As the market and businesses are not picking up, the revenue collection is almost negligible. In such a situation, the Centre is trying to generate revenue from essential commodities like petrol, diesel and LPG. Its burden is going to have the cascading effect on other commodities,” he said.
“The price of crude per barrel is now $53-$54 and, accordingly, the fuel prices should not be more than Rs65-69 per litre. Even if the international prices come down, the government takes advantage by increasing prices to earn revenue,” he added.