Assam reduces fuel prices by ₹5, withdraws duty on liquor by 25% ahead of state polls

Ahead of assembly elections in the state, the Assam government on Friday slashed the rates of petrol and diesel by ₹5 and has also decided to withdraw the additional taxes of 25% imposed on liquor products following the coronavirus pandemic. The new fuel prices will be effective from Friday midnight.

"Speaker sir, at the peak of COVID-19, we had levied additional cess on petrol, diesel and liquor. Now, the number of patients has reduced... I am grateful to my cabinet colleagues who agreed to my proposal this morning to rescind this additional cess. Hence, petrol and diesel will become cheaper by ₹5 per litre with effect from midnight tonight, benefiting lakhs of consumers across Assam," finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said in his speech in the state assembly.

Petrol in Assam, which is priced at ₹90.41 per litre at present will now come down to ₹85.41 per litre while the current rate of diesel ₹84.29 will be reduced to ₹79.29.

Sarma claimed that Assam will have the record of having the least costly petrol prices in the country after Gujarat and the price of diesel would be the lowest after Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

The finance minister presented the vote-on-account for an aggregate expenditure of ₹60,784.03 crore for the first six months of the next fiscal.

The minister told the House that allowances under the Orunodoi scheme, which gives ₹830 every month to nearly 2.2 million families, would gradually be increased to ₹3,000 per month and added that minimum daily wages of tea-garden workers would also be increased by February 20.

Assam is among four states and a Union territory (UT) which will hold assembly elections in April-May this year. These will be the first set of assembly elections since Bihar conducted to polls in October-November last year.