Fuel tax cut: Petrol and diesel in MP's border districts cheaper a week after pamphlets promised low rates in Maharashtra

BHOPAL: After the Centre and the Madhya Pradesh government slashed taxes and cess on fuel, rates of petrol and diesel have come down in the border district of Balaghat compared to Maharashtra, almost a week after residents received pamphlets promising them petrol cheaper by Rs 4 per litre in Gondia in the neighbouring state.

The fuel also became cheaper in the districts in Madhya Pradesh bordering Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.

A day after the Union government slashed excise duty on petrol and diesel, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on November 4 announced a four per cent cut in the Value Added Tax (VAT) and Rs 1.50 cut in the cess on the two fuels. Petrol and diesel in Balaghat have become cheaper by Rs 1.50 to Rs 2.50 per litre if compared to Gondia, Amar Singh Narde, a petrol pump owner in Balaghat said on Saturday.

He said petrol was sold at around Rs 121 per litre earlier and diesel around Rs 110 per litre before the Centre and the state government slashed taxes.

On Saturday, the prices of diesel and petrol in Balaghat stood at Rs 93.4 a litre and Rs 109.57 per litre, respectively, he said. On the other hand, petrol and diesel are being sold at Rs 111.71 and Rs 94.45 a litre, respectively, in Gondia, Narde said.

According to him, petrol and diesel have now become cheaper by Rs 11.74 a litre and Rs 17.16 a litre respectively, in Balaghat.

On October 31, a sizable number of people in Balaghat city got pamphlets in their newspapers informing them that petrol and diesel were cheaper by at least Rs 4 per litre in Gondia. The Hindi pamphlets mentioned the name of a dealer located at Jai Stambh Chowk in Gondia.

These pamphlets were distributed to attract people from Balaghat, which also borders Chhattisgarh, towards lower prices of petrol and diesel in Maharashtra, a petrol pump owner said.

Meanwhile, diesel has become cheaper in Anuppur, another district in MP bordering Chhattisgarh, by Rs 1.50 per litre, said Abhishek Jaiswal, a petrol pump owner based in Bijuri.

However, petrol is still costlier by Rs 4.5 a litre in the Anuppur district if compared to Chhattisgarh. Similarly, petrol and diesel have cheaper now by Rs 4 and Rs 5 per litre respectively in the Guna district of MP compared to neighbouring Rajasthan, said Pulkit Agrawal, a petrol owner in Binaganj, just 25 km from the state border.

He said since prices of petrol and diesel were at the higher side in MP earlier, people used to travel to Rajasthan for refuelling. On Saturday, diesel and petrol are being sold at Rs 91.98 and Rs 108.35 per litre, respectively, in the Guna district, Agrawal said.