Rajasthan: Transporters write to Union min, CM about high fuel price
The association said as lockdown is to be implemented from Monday, they fear that many of them would have to sell off their vehicles as they are running into losses
Jaipur: Transporters association has written to Union petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot about fuel prices in the state which were stable for a while, but increased again after the assembly elections in four states recently.
The association said as lockdown is to be implemented from Monday, they fear that many of them would have to sell off their vehicles as they are running into losses.
The letter said the transporters had been suffering huge losses since the pandemic hit the country and the situation continued to worsen as they were not earning enough profits to even pay the installments of their vehicles. Jaipur Transport Operators’ Association president Anil Arora said, “For over a year, we have been incurring losses. On a daily basis, there is a loss of approximately Rs 100 crore for transporters. The situation has become so bad that even during lockdown, where there is no restriction on movement of heavy vehicles, we might have to stop all operations as it was becoming difficult to sustain. This will adversely affect other services also. Our point is that if there is no change in the price of oil in the international market, then why are we being charged such heavy tax in Rajasthan?”
The transporters claimed that now customers prefer trucks from other states as they are charging less for transportation because fuel prices are cheaper in Punjab and Haryana. Fuel pump owners are already facing losses due to the high VAT imposed on petrol and diesel in Rajasthan as compared to neighbouring states. While there is 36% VAT on diesel, the same tax is 26% on petrol. Some of the fuel pumps on highways have shut down permanently and the stakeholders said it will take a decade to recover from the losses sustained due to the pandemic.