Punjab petrol dealers launch consumer awareness program
KS Diwan/ royalpatiala.in/Chandigarh
Continuing its protest over an indifference attitude of state government for not bringing price equality in fuel prices with bordering states by reducing VAT to comparable levels, Petrol Pump Dealers’ Association of Punjab (PPDAP) has launched consumer awareness program.
Under program, the posters showing the plights of pump dealers especially in border area, have been put up at petrol pumps.
We will continue our protest till our demands are not full fill, said Paramjit Singh Doaba, president of PPDAP in a press release issued here today.
Due to wrong policies, Punjab government is losing revenue to neighborhood states.Petrol pumps in Punjab are operating on just 40% of their volumetric capabilities whereas pumps in the border districts are selling just 10% of their total potential, said Doaba.
The petrol pumps located in districts bordering neighbouring states of Punjab and on highways leading to or originating from neighboring states, are the worst affected, said PPDAP Spokesperson Monty Sehgal.
Punjab is now expensive than all neighbouring states and farmers, the Industry & trade are increasingly burdened with higher prices.It is not long before businesses like majority of transporters shift out to neighbouring states for their fuel needs. It is notable that traffic passing through &originating from Punjab, for both petrol and diesel is giving Punjab a miss, thereby also taking related business and trade across borders, said Monty adding it is also pertinent to note that farmers and small consumers or the poor mostly own 2-wheeler which are petrol driven and they are the most taxed as higher vat on Petrol results in higher taxes for the poor or the common man.
The growing price difference with neighbouring states, especially Chandigarh over more than a decade has been hurting our petrol pumps and the recent decrease in VAT by all neighbouring states has sealed our fate, pointed out Dr.Manjit Singh, General Secretary of PPDAP
The not so understanding attitude of the Punjab govt would result in further loss of sales to our petrol pumps forcing some to close down and it would also hurt the business sentiment in Punjab and would lead to further reduction of revenue for the Punjab govt, maintained Dr Singh.
It is no surprise that Chandigarh UT which has over the years reduced VAT on both petrol and diesel and despite having a small economy has poached on HSD and MS sales from bordering state, majority of it from Punjab. Chandigarh has shown a phenomenal growth of 78.1% (80444 MT) in Diesel and 19%(45157 MT) in Petrol in the first half of this financial year (From 1stApril2018 to 30thSeptember2018) and the figures are likely to rise for Chandigarh as more people from Punjab turn for their fuel needs ย to neighbouring states. It is not only Chandigarh but also J&K, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana that has started gaining at Punjabโs expense, rued Dr. Singh.
