Petrol, diesel, LPG will now be cheaper

Petrol, diesel, LPG and kerosene will now be available at cheaper rates in Maharashtra as oil marketing companies have agreed to do away with the additional surcharge on products, state Consumer Protection Minister Girish Bapat has said.

The minister held a meeting with Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in New Delhi on the state government's proposal to end "the unjust charging of surcharge" by petroleum companies for 2014-15. "The Federation of Petrol Dealers' Association had pointed out the issue... After going through the documents they had produced, I decided to have a meeting with... Dharmendra Pradhan," Bapat said. At the meeting, the petroleum companies agreed to remove the surcharge, he said. "This would help cut petrol prices in the state by 95 paise and diesel 66 paise in about a week," the minister claimed. The decision will also apply to LPG and kerosene prices, he added.

A separate proposal on surcharge for 2015-16 was discussed at the meeting, which is intended to further bring down prices of petroleum products, Bapat said. MLC Shobhatai Fadnavis and members of the Federation of Petrol Dealers' Association attended the meet.