The government on Saturday decided to increase the prices of petroleum products and CNG from Re 1 to Rs 5. Per reports, CNG price is likely to soar by Rs 1.25 per kilogram in region-I and II, which will push the gas price to Rs 71.89 per kg in region-I and Rs 78.62 in region-II. According to the Petroleum Ministry, petrol price will be increased by Rs 1.41 per liter, Light Diesel by Rs 1.62, Kerosene Oil by Rs 1.94 and High Octane price will be raised by Rs 5.64. The price of High Speed Diesel will be retained at the current level.
The notification for the new prices of petroleum products will be issued today (Sunday). Earlier, the government had substantially slashed POL prices twice in a month in moves criticized by many as bids to regain popularity among the masses ahead of the election. The government had cut petroleum prices by up to Rs 6.44 per litre and CNG prices by Rs 4.59 per kg on June 30, and as the elections neared, people were expecting POL prices to fall further. Asked about the POL price hike, a customer at a CNG filling station said it was expected, but not this soon. “I thought they [government] would stick to their decision of keeping POL prices low, but it’s sad they could not sustain the little good they did,” he said.
