The petrol pump dealers in the capital have withdrawn their proposed indefinite strike from Monday June 14 in protest against hike in VAT on diesel that has led to a sharp drop in sales in the city. According to president of Delhi/NCR petrol dealers association (DNPDA), the proposed strike was called off following assurances that a meeting would be held with chief minister Sheila Dikshit and the state finance minister Dr A.K. Walia within two or three days.
Earlier, Ms Dikshit gave an assurance to the Federation of All-India Petroleum Traders’ president Ashok Bhadwar, said a DNPDA spokesperson. He added that the chief minister also went through the sales details of at least 200 pumps that had become “unviable” to operate in the wake of mounting losses following implementation of the new VAT rates. There are 400 pumps in the capital.
The chief minister then asked the sales tax commissioner to take a sympathetic view of the petrol dealers’ condition, claimed the spokesperson.
He further claimed that the chief minister wrote letters to her counterparts in Haryana and Punjab seeking a raise in VAT rate to bring the diesel rates at par with that in the capital. However, they have not responded yet.
The DNPDA had earlier gone on strike for a day on May 25 and had then decided to go for closure of petrol pumps every Monday. However, they had later withdrawn the proposed move but had decided to go on indefinite strike if the government did not pay heed to their demands.
They have been claiming that the sale of diesel in the capital has dipped by more than 30 per cent after VAT on diesel was raised from 12.5 per cent to 20 per cent in this year’s budget. The government has so far taken a tough stand, the assurances to the petrol dealers’ notwithstanding on the grounds that it needed revenue in the wake of high expenditure due to Commonwealth Games.