Govt to give Re 1/ litre subsidy on diesel

Bus operators criticised Dasgupta’s sops as peanuts and said they would have no other option but to go for enhancing of fares if the increase of Rs 6.36 was not reduced.

“It is a mere gimmick of the state government in an election year that they cut down Re 1 from diesel prices. We are going to meet Transport Minister Ranjit Kundu on Wednesday and demand that a fare hike. Otherwise,we will have to opt for an agitation,” Bengal Bus Syndicate President and Trinamool Congress MLA Swarna Kamal Saha told The Indian Express.

Both the Trinamool Congress and the Congress have demanded that the state government remove the cess on petro-products they have already imposed.

Dasgupta said that the state government would also provide a subsidy of Rs 50 crore on kerosene,as a result of it would now be cheaper by 45 paise. “Such steps to reduce prices of petro-products have not been taken anywhere else in the country,” he claimed.

‘Bengal not theonly state with huge debt’
Meanwhile,Dasgupta stressed that West Bengal is not the only state with a huge debt burden and other states,as well as the Centre,have also taken massive loans.

While West Bengal’s debt burden stands at about Rs 1.92 lakh crore,Uttar Pradesh has a loan burden of Rs 2.21 lakh crore and Maharashtra Rs 2.08 lakh crore,while the central government has a debt burden of Rs 38 lakh crore,Dasgupta told the Assembly.

Dasgupta made the statement after RSP member Tapan Hore pointed out that Trinamool Congress Chief Mamata Banerjee had yesterday said that West Bengal has a loan burden of Rs 1.92 lakh crore. States like Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh also have substantial debt of 1.21 lakh crore and 1.28 lakh crore,respectively,he said.

The minister,who was speaking on the West Bengal Appropriation (No2) Bill,2010 passed by the House,said the debt per capita in the state was Rs 22,000,while for the country as a whole under the Centre’s stewardship,it was Rs 33,000.

On banking services,he regretted the fact that nationalised banks had only disbursed loans worth Rs 8,300 crore in the state,whereas in the case of Andhra Pradesh,they had lent Rs 41,913 crore.

He said the banking system in the state should be universalised and remote areas which do not have any bank branches should be covered under the business correspondent model.

Referring to the demand-supply gap for power,he said an additional 250 MW might be added this year and indicated that the plant load factor and coal quality had to be improved,but emphasised that even Delhi,the national capital,also experienced power cuts.