Vehicle users in the national Capital will have to put their vehicle off the road for a day as the Delhi Petrol Dealers Association (DPDA), one of the apex bodies of petrol pump owners in Capital, is planning a two-day protest on October 22 against the Delhi Government for refusing to reduce Value Added Tax (VAT) on diesel and petrol. All the fuel and petrol pumps situated across the city will be ‘closed’ as a part of the protest.
“The Central Government had slashed the rate of petrol and diesel by Rs 2.50 per litre each on September 4. This was followed by reduction of Value Added Tax (VAT) by various states including neighboring Haryana and Uttar Pradesh bringing relief to their residents. But Delhi government refused to reduce VAT on both petrol and diesel resulting in fuel becoming more expensive than bordering Haryana and Uttar Pradesh,” said Nischal Singhania , President, Delhi Petrol Dealers Association (DPDA).
There are about 400 petrol pumps in Delhi which is also linked with CNG pumps will be remained closed on October 22 and 23 from 6:00 am to till 5.00 am. The members of the DPDA said that the body held a meeting on Monday with all its zones to gear up for the upcoming protest.
“In comparison to Delhi, petrol in UP and Haryana is cheaper by Rs 2.59 and Rs 1.95 per litre, while diesel in these two states is cheaper by Rs 2.02 and Rs 1.72 per litre, as on October 10. Because of high price in Delhi and low prices in states like UP and Haryana, customers are deserting the petrol pumps in Delhi leading to huge drop in sales,” Singhania added.
Affecting thousands of people in the capital, the workers will close around 200 pumps out of 400 pumps during the protest.
The members claimed that due the VAT the people these days are choosing the neighboring region such as Gurgram, Noida and Ghaziabad to fill the fuels. Due to which the dealers in Delhi are facing loss.
“Environment friendly Euro VI fuel is only available in NCT of Delhi. There is also an apprehension of interstate smuggling of inferior Euro IV fuel in the city.
Emissions of Euro VI fuels are 80 per cent less than the emissions of Euro IV fuels. Dealers would be forced to cut cost by reducing working hours due to loss of sales and revenue,” added Singhania.
