Jharkhand government to cut petrol prices by Rs 25 per litre, announces CM Hemant Soren

On the completion of two years of his government, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has made a big announcement. He has said that there will be a huge reduction in the prices of petrol and diesel.

"The price of petrol and diesel is increasing continuously, due to which the poor and middle class people are the most affected. Therefore the government will give a relief of Rs 25 per litre on petrol for two-wheelers from the state level, its benefit will start from 26 January 2022," he said.

पेट्रोल-डीजल के मूल्य में लगातार इजाफा हो रहा है, इससे गरीब और मध्यम वर्ग के लोग सबसे अधिक प्रभावित हैं। इसलिए सरकार ने राज्य स्तर से दुपहिया वाहन के लिए पेट्रोल पर प्रति लीटर ₹25 की राहत देगी, इसका लाभ 26 जनवरी 2022 से मिलना शुरू होगा:- श्री @HemantSorenJMM pic.twitter.com/MsinoGS60Y

— Office of Chief Minister, Jharkhand (@JharkhandCMO) December 29, 2021

Jharkhand Petroleum Dealers Association is continuously demanding a reduction of VAT rates on petrol-diesel in the state. Association officials say that in the neighbouring states of West Bengal, Bihar and Odisha, the price of diesel is low, due to which the people of Jharkhand are getting diesel filled from these states. This is leading to a huge loss to the petrol pump operators. The CM did not reduce the VAT rates on diesel, but by reducing VAT on petrol, gave a big relief to the BPL cardholders.

Notably, due to the continuous increase in excise duty and VAT, the price of this petrol has jumped above Rs 100 per litre this year. At the same time, the price of diesel had also reached Rs 80-90 per litre in many states. In view of the increasing anger among the people, the Central Government had announced a reduction of Rs 5 and Rs 10 in the excise duty on petrol and diesel on the occasion of Diwali.

After this announcement of the Modi govt, BJP ruled states in the country had also announced to reduce the prices by reducing the rates of VAT. However, non-BJP ruled states were not too eager to reduce the prices.