Assam govt presents vote on account in Assembly; petrol, diesel to become cheaper by Rs 5 per litre

Ahead of the assembly polls inAssam, Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Fridaypresented a vote-on-account for Rs 60,784.03 crore in theHouse and withdrew an additional cess on petrol and diesel,making the fuels cheaper by Rs 5 per litre.He also proposed to remove an additional cess ofaround 25 per cent imposed on alcoholic beverages in the lastyear.Speaker sir, at the peak of COVID-19, we had leviedadditional cess on petrol, diesel and liquor. Now, the numberof patients has reduced...

Ahead of the assembly polls inAssam, Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Fridaypresented a vote-on-account for Rs 60,784.03 crore in theHouse and withdrew an additional cess on petrol and diesel,making the fuels cheaper by Rs 5 per litre.

He also proposed to remove an additional cess ofaround 25 per cent imposed on alcoholic beverages in the lastyear.

''Speaker sir, at the peak of COVID-19, we had leviedadditional cess on petrol, diesel and liquor. Now, the numberof patients has reduced... I am grateful to my cabinetcolleagues who agreed to my proposal this morning to rescindthis additional cess. Hence, petrol and diesel will becomecheaper by Rs 5 per litre with effect from midnight tonight,benefiting lakhs of consumers across Assam,'' Sarma said in hisspeech.

The finance minister presented the vote-on-account foran aggregate expenditure of Rs 60,784.03 crore for the firstsix months of the next fiscal.

Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) rose from Rs2,02,080.85 crore to Rs 2,48,796.15 crore between 2016-17 and2019-20 at constant prices.

The annual growth rate stood at 7.71 per cent in theperiod as against the rate of 6.11 per cent at the nationallevel.

''At current prices, the GSDP rose from Rs 2,54,382.36crore in 2016-17 to Rs 3,51,317.77 crore in 2019-20 at anannual growth rate of 12.7 per cent as against the all-Indiagrowth rate of 10.72 per cent,'' Sarma said in the last budgetof the first BJP-led government in the state.

During the period, the per capita income of Assam rosefrom Rs 66,330 in 2016-17 to Rs 90,692 in 2019-20.

The elections to the 126-member state assembly arelikely to be held in March-April.