Petrol, diesel to become cheaper by Rs 5 per litre in Assam ahead of polls

The fuel prices in Assam are going to get cheaper by Rs 5 per litre. This is after the state finance minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, withdrew the additional cess levied on petrol and diesel on Friday (February 12). It is to be noted that the state government's decision comes months before the state witnesses its Legislative Assembly elections.

Sarma also proposed that an additional cess of around 25 per cent imposed on alcoholic beverages in the previous year be withdrawn.

In his address to the Legislative Assembly, Sarma said, "Speaker sir, at the peak of COVID-19, we had levied additional cess on petrol, diesel and liquor. Now, the number of patients has reduced... I am grateful to my cabinet colleagues who agreed to my proposal this morning to rescind this additional cess. Hence, petrol and diesel will become cheaper by Rs 5 per litre with effect from midnight tonight, benefiting lakhs of consumers across Assam."

Sarma also presented a vote-on-account for an aggregate expenditure of Rs 60,784.03 crores in the assembly for the first six months of the fiscal year.

He informed the members of the assembly that the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) in Assam increased between 2016-17 and 2019-20 from Rs 2,02,080.85 crores to Rs 2,48,796.15 crores. Sarma suggested that the per capita income in the state also increased from Rs 66,630 to Rs 90,692 in the same time period.

"At current prices, the GSDP rose from Rs 2,54,382.36 crore in 2016-17 to Rs 3,51,317.77 crore in 2019-20 at an annual growth rate of 12.7 per cent as against the all-India growth rate of 10.72 per cent," said Sarma about the performance of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.

The assembly polls in the state are expected to be held in the months of March and April.