LUDHIANA: The Rs 5 reduction of VAT on petrol would encourage people to buy petrol cars and this would, in turn, help reduce pollution, according to industrialists in Ludhiana. The government's move, which includes a Rs 1 cut in VAT on diesel, has brought the price difference between petrol and diesel from Rs 9.97 per litre to Rs 5.97 per litre.
Without the change in VAT, the per-litre price of petrol and diesel in Ludhiana ws Rs 76.46 and Rs 66.49, respectively. Chamber of Industrial and Commercial Undertakings (CICU) president Upkar Singh Ahuja said the reduction in fuel prices was a "big relief".
"People had till now been preferring diesel cars (which emit more pollution than petrol cars) only because diesel cost less. Now, people will think twice before buying a diesel car. Petrol variants are anyway cheaper," he said.