Kerala govt may reduce fuel cess after widespread stir
The Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Kerala government is likely to reduce the cess on petroleum products to ₹1 from ₹2, and an announcement in this regard will be made in the assembly on Wednesday during budget discussions, said people close to the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) on Sunday.
In the past week, besides opposition parties, LDF alliance partners also expressed reservations over the cess, and truckers and private bus owners associations also sought a tariff hike given the proposed ₹2 cesses. On Friday, finance minister T N Balagopal proposed a ₹2 cess on petrol and diesel to collect ₹750 crore additional revenue in the state budget to fund welfare pension and other social security activities in the state.
“In the budget, it is only proposals. We will discuss it in detail and will take an appropriate decision. Our policy is not to impose an additional burden on people,” said CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan in Kochi on Sunday.
