Mumbai: Transporters’ body the All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) termed Friday the recent 14-16 paise per litre cut in petrol and diesel prices across major cities as ‘ostentatious’. The AIMTC said there is still a room to reduction the price by up to Rs 40 per litre. The AIMTC has claimed that it represents over 95 lakh truckers and entities. It asserted that it is an open fact that this small cut in the petrol and diesel prices has a bearing on the election in four states. The states are West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Assam.
“We welcome the miniscule decrease in prices of petrol and diesel prices by about 14-16 paise per litre across major cities, which is on account of a correction in the price of Brent crude to about USD 62 per barrel in early April 2021 from a peak of USD 70 a barrel in early-March 2021,” the chairman of the Core Committee of AIMTC, Bal Milkit Singh said.
“Currently, the prices of petrol and diesel in the national capital stand at Rs 90.40 and Rs 80.73, respectively. This suggests that there is still a room for reduction of over Rs 40 in each case,” he added.
Singh said the reduction in prices is ‘cosmetic in nature and too little to make any tangible difference in the current scenario’. Bringing them down further by over Rs 40 ‘is the need of the hour and the people of India need relief from the adverse fall-out of second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, he asserted.
AIMTC also said that in May 2014 when the international crude oil was USD 105 per barrel, the petrol price was Rs 71.41 and diesel price was Rs 56.71. “In December 2020, when crude oil was at USD 47.58 a barrel, petrol in India increased to Rs 90.34 and dielsel Rs 80.51,” he informed.
The current crude prices are of July 2009 level when crude oil was around USD 64.82 per barrel. Then the petrol price in India was Rs 40.62 and diesel price was Rs 30.86, Singh said in the statement.