Uttarakhand reduces diesel and petrol prices by Rs 2.50 per litre

The Uttarakhand government on Thursday followed other Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled states and slashed the rates of diesel and petrol by Rs 2.50 per litre.

With the state's decision to cut value-added tax (VAT) on diesel and petrol by Rs 2.5 per litre, the effective reduction in the fuel prices will be of Rs 5 per litre. The new prices would come into effect from Thursday midnight.

Earlier in the day, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced that the Central government would cut the petrol-diesel rates by Rs 2.5, of which Rs 1.50 per litre will be the excise duty cut while the oil marketing companies will absorb Re 1 per litre.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said that with the cut in state taxes, the rate of petrol in the hill state would now be Rs 78.83 per litre and Rs 70.97 for diesel.

According to Chief Minister Rawat, the state consumes around Rs 40 crore litres of petrol and 90 crore litres of diesel annually, and the state earns annual revenue of Rs 650 crore from petrol and Rs 800 crore from diesel.

People in the state, like elsewhere, have welcomed the rate cut in fuel prices, which they said would bring some relief to the common man.

(With inputs from agencies.)