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TN CM, FM blame Centre for fuel price hike

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Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan on Thursday blamed the BJP-led central government for hiking the petrol and diesel prices.

Speaking in the state Assembly, Stalin said as the excise duty has to be shared with the state, the Central government reduced that while hiking the cesses and surcharges which are not shared with the states.

The two Ministers were responding to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call on Wednesday to states to reduce the Value Added Tax (VAT) on fuel “in the spirit of cooperative federalism”.

Modi on Wednesday lit the fuse citing the Central government reducing petrol and diesel prices by Rs 5/litre and Rs 10/litre, respectively, while many states have not followed suit.

Stalin said hiking the cesses and surcharges the Central government increased the burden on the common man while earning for itself lakhs of crore of rupees.

As per the figures of Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC), the total contribution of the petroleum sector to the central exchequer galloped from Rs 172,065 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 419,884 crore in 2020-21 and for the nine month period in FY22, it was Rs 310,155 crore.

On the other hand, the state’s revenue went up from Rs 160,554 crore in FY15 to Rs 217,650 crore in FY21 and Rs 207,658 crore for the nine month period in FY22.

“While both, the Central and the state governments, say that they get the revenue for investments in infrastructure, the PPAC figures show that the Central government has further leeway to reduce the rates,” an industry official told IANS on the condition of anonymity.

According to Stalin, owing to some state elections, the central government reduced the oil prices and after winning the polls, the prices were hiked fast.

Meanwhile Rajan urged the Centre to remove cesses and surcharges on petrol and diesel revert to the 2014 rates, an act which is fair and simple.

“We have repeatedly urged the Union government to reduce the cesses and surcharges being levied and merge them with the basic tax rates so that states get their rightful share from the proceeds of the Union taxes,” Rajan said.

According to Rajan, since Tamil Nadu levies ‘ad valorem’ taxes which are applied after Central taxes, this move by the Centre will cause an additional loss of about Rs 1,050 crore in annual revenue to the state.

“Given that the Union Government’s taxes continue to be exorbitant, it is neither fair nor feasible for the State Government to further reduce taxes.”

He hoped that the Central government would heed to this reasonable request in the “true spirit of cooperative federalism”.

He said the Centre’s levies on petrol have gone up substantially in the past seven years since Modi took charge for the first time in 2014.

Listing out the basic points and the tax rates on petrol and diesel, Rajan said on August 1, 2014, the basic price was Rs 48.55 per litre for petrol and Rs.47.27 per litre for diesel.

On November 4, 2021, the basic price of petrol was Rs 48.36 per litre while that of diesel was Rs 49.69 per litre.

On August 1, 2014, the Centre’s taxes were Rs 9.48 per litre on petrol and Rs 3.57 per litre on diesel. At that time, the state government taxes were at Rs 15.67 per litre on petrol and Rs 10.25 per litre on diesel.

“Prior to the reduction of taxes on petrol and diesel by Union Government, the levy of tax, including cesses and surcharges by Union Government on petrol was Rs 32.90 per litre and Rs 31.80 per litre on diesel,” he said.

“This has been reduced to Rs 27.90 per litre for petrol and Rs 21.80 per litre for diesel after the cut. So, when compared to 2014 (when basic price was roughly the same), the Union government still levies an additional tax of Rs 18.42 per litre for petrol (an increase of roughly 200 per cent) and Rs 18.23 per litre for diesel (an increase of over 500 per cent) compared to the taxes in effect when it took office in 2014.

“Though the revenue to the Union government has increased manifold, there has not been a matching increase in the revenues to States. This is because the Union government has increased the cess and surcharge on petrol and diesel while reducing the basic excise duty that is shareable with the states.

“In 2020-21, the revenue to the Union government from levies on petrol and diesel was Rs 3,89,622 crore which was 63 per cent higher than the revenue of Rs 2,39,452 crore in 2019-20. On the other hand, the government of Tamil Nadu in 2020-21 received only Rs 837.75 crore as share of the tax devolution from the Union Excise Duties on petrol and diesel as against the Rs 1,163.13 crore received in 2019-20,” the Minister added.

According to Rajan, after the advent of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, the states have lost substantial powers to levy their own taxes and raise revenue.

“Further, the GST compensation regime comes to an end on June 30 and most states including Tamil Nadu have already requested the compensation to be extended considering the strain caused by the pandemic on state finances. However, there is no clarity from the Union government on whether the compensation will continue or not after June 30.”

On bringing petrol and diesel under the GST regime, Rajan had earlier said it can be done provided the Central government scraps the cess and surcharge levied on them.

On the other hand, AIADMK’s late Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa was a strong advocate for changing the fuel pricing formula.

She had argued that the fuel rates should be determined based on import costs and refining charges and rates of domestic crude oil and the refining charges for the same instead of basing it on trade parity Price.

Crime

16 Bangladeshis, including 7 minors, apprehended in East Delhi

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New Delhi, June 2: In a drive against Bangladeshis illegally living in Delhi, the city police rounded up 16 persons, including seven children, from the Seemapuri area, an official said on Monday.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Shahdara), Prashant Gautam, said the apprehended Bangladeshi nationals revealed that they had crossed into India approximately 18-19 years ago under the cover of darkness.

“They illegally entered India due to extreme poverty and a lack of livelihood opportunities in their native villages, located 40-50 km from the India-Bangladesh border in West Bengal,” he said.

The DCP said the arrests were made by a joint team of the Foreigner Cell and special staff of Shahdara after receiving a tip-off last month.

Those arrested include four men and five women, he said, adding that after entering India they initially stayed in the Cooch Behar area.

DCP Gautam said that from there, they travelled by train to New Delhi in search of better employment opportunities.

“Eventually, they moved to Haryana and began working in the rural areas, particularly at brick kilns, where they were involved in brickmaking,” he said.

These kilns are located away from main villages and residential areas, which allowed them to live in hiding without attracting attention, he said.

“No government agency had conducted any verification or background checks on them during this time. The brick kiln owners, driven by the motive of engaging low-cost labour, employed them without documentation,” he said.

Over time, they settled in the area, raised families, and continued to live and work without legal status or scrutiny, he said.

DCP Gautam said that on May 30, the Foreigner Cell of the Shahdara District received information regarding the presence of illegal Bangladeshi nationals attempting to enter the Seemapuri area.

“The tip-off indicated that a group of individuals was moving across the Uttar Pradesh-Delhi border near Shaheed Nagar,” he said.

The arrests were made by a joint team of Foreigner Cell and Special Staff comprising SI Shaji John, ASI Gajender, ASI Johar, ASI Nazir, Head Constable Arun, Head Constable Siddharth, Head Constable Yoginder, Head Constable Amit, Head Constable Vijay, Head Constable Anuj, Woman Head Constable Geeta, Woman Head Constable Manju, Woman Head Constable Renu and Constable Aman led by Inspector Munish Kumar I/C Special Staff & Foreigner Cell under the supervision of Gurudev Singh, ACP/Operations.

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National News

SC refuses to stay demolitions in Delhi’s Batla House, next hearing in July

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New Delhi, June 2: The Supreme Court on Monday did not pass any interim orders on staying the proposed demolitions in the national capital’s Batla House.

A Bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and Satish Chandra Sharma told the residents, who had received 15-day eviction notices and apprehended imminent demolition, that they are free to avail remedies available under the law.

The Justice Karol-led Bench directed that the matter be listed before the regular Bench for hearing in July.

The litigants claimed that they were “genuine residents” and “property owners” of Khasra Nos. 271 and 279 in Batla House. They stated that their homes fall within the area now sought to be demolished on the purported ground of being outside the PM-UDAY Scheme coverage, despite having valid title documents, proof of continuous possession since before 2014, and eligibility under the Recognition of Property Rights Act, 2019.

Any blanket demolition drive initiated without affording affected residents an adequate and meaningful opportunity of being heard would amount to a gross infraction of the principles of natural justice and a direct violation of fundamental rights enshrined under the Constitution of India, said the plea filed through advocate Adeel Ahmed.

Underscoring the need for a fair, humane, and judicious approach before any coercive action is undertaken, the plea stated that applicants have been residing peacefully in the area in question for several decades, forming a stable and law-abiding community.

It added that the 15-day eviction notices were mechanically applied to residents and properties which are neither part of Khasra No. 271 nor identified in any report as being outside the scope of regularisation.

In spite of their legitimate claims, these residents have been denied an opportunity to be heard, and are now at imminent risk of displacement, said the application filed before the top court.

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Maharashtra: Major scam in twin tunnel and elevated road projects, allege Shiv Sena-UBT and Congress

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Mumbai, May 31: The opposition Shiv Sena-UBT and Congress in Maharashtra have claimed that there is a major scam in the Thane-Godbunder-Bhayander twin tunnel and elevated road projects estimated together at Rs 14,000 crore.

“Will Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde be removed from the government and an investigation conducted into this scam?” SS-UBT leader Aaditya Thackeray said at a press conference while criticising the state government after the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) told the Supreme Court during a hearing on a petition filed by the infrastructure major L&T that both the tenders would be scrapped, and a fresh tender process would be initiated only to safeguard larger public interest.

“I congratulate the court… I also congratulate the contractor L&T. No political interference is needed. I had brought this news to the fore last year also,” Aaditya Thackeray said on Saturday.

“The cost of the twin projects was expected to be Rs 14,000 crore and, on the other hand, the contract process was to be completed in 20 days. There is a short tender notice for landslides, broken walls. But how can there be a short notice for this big project? When they (L&T) went to court, MMRDA said that they are giving a contract period of 60 days instead of 20 days,” he claimed.

“It all started for a favourite contractor. At that time, I didn’t think it would be such a big scam. There was a settlement against the government for a contract. But today’s (court) case has given me confidence that ‘Satyamev Jayate’ will prevail. It was clear that this was a scam. Just because the contract was canceled later on the orders of the court doesn’t mean it wasn’t a scam.

“The ED and IT-D are being pushed aside. I ask the Chief Minister – are you going to investigate the ‘corrupt Nath’ Shinde? He must have taken bribes, given threats. Fadnavis says we need clean governance. Shinde holds the urban development department… he gives orders to commit scams. Will you investigate him? Are you going to expel him?” Aaditya Thackeray questioned.

He claimed that Fadnavis does not need Shinde as Ajit Pawar is with him. “So will the probe be conducted by keeping aside Shinde?” he wondered.

On the other hand, Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee president Harshwardhan Sapkal claimed that there was corruption of Rs 3,000 crore in the Thane-Godbunder-Bhayander twin tunnel and elevated road projects. He also accused CM Devendra Fadnavis and his deputy Eknath Shinde of taking bribes in these projects.

“The matter does not end with the cancellation of the tender by MMRDA as the issue is about corruption. Devendra Fadnavis and Eknath Shinde have created a corridor of corruption in the state and there is a circle of state undertakings including MMRDA, MHADA (Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority), CIDCO (City and Industrial Development Corporation) and SRA (Slum Rehabilitation Authority) for this purpose. This circle of corruption has been quite active since Eknath Shinde became the Chief Minister. For this, favourite officers are appointed and through this, the favourite contractor scheme is implemented,” alleged Sapkal.

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