Govt hikes petrol rates by 27 paise, diesel by 15 paise

The government today hiked petrol and diesel prices by a marginal Rs 0.27 a litre and Rs 0.15 per litre respectively following increase in the commission paid to petrol pump dealers.The government approved raising dealer's commission paid on petrol from Rs 1.218 per kilolitre to Rs 1,499 per kilolitre, resulting in a Rs 0.27 per litre increase in retail price with effect from midnight tonight, an official said here.Similarly, the dealers' commission on diesel was hiked from Rs 757 per kilolitre to Rs 912 per kilolitre, resulting in a Rs 0.15 per litre increase in rates at retail level.Petrol, at present, is priced at Rs 63.37 per litre in Delhi and will from tomorrow cost Rs 63.64 per litre. Diesel, whose rates had last week been hiked by Rs 3 a litre, will cost Rs 41.27 per litre instead of 41.12 a litre.The official said the increase in dealers' commission is lower than 39.5 paisa hike recommended by an expert committee of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

Similarly, the increase in commission on diesel too is lower than 17 paisa per litre increase suggested by the committee which was headed by Apurva Chandra, Joint Secretary (Marketing) in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.