Automotive fuel prices hiked marginally
08 Sep 2010
Petrol and diesel prices went up marginally from Tuesday midnight as the government has revised dealer margins. Petrol prices will rise by approximately 10 paise a litre and diesel by 8 paise.
Petrol in Delhi will now cost Rs51.53 a litre and diesel Rs40.18. In Mumbai, petrol will cost Rs55.98 and diesel Rs42.06. In Kolkata, the new rates are Rs55.42 and Rs40.02; while in Chennai, the prices will be Rs55.02 and Rs40.15 for petrol and diesel respectively.
The petroleum and natural gas ministry on Tuesday cleared a proposal to raise dealer commision from Rs1,125 per kilolitre to Rs1,218. Similarly, dealer commission on diesel has been raised from Rs673 a kilolitre to Rs757.
Nonetheless, the dealers have threatened to go on an indefinite strike from 20 September demanding an upward revision and a formula for setting their commission in line with full deregulation of petrol prices and partial freeing of diesel.
The government had in June raised petrol prices by Rs3.50 a litre, diesel by Rs2, kerosene by Rs3 and cooking gas by Rs35 a cylinder.
While deciding on the increase, the ministerial panel on fuels had also freed up petrol pricing and said diesel prices too would be linked to the market in phases, though no step has been taken in this direction as yet.
