Gas Trouble: Kuldeep Meets LG
Port Blair, Oct 07: Mr. Kuldeep Rai Sharma, President, PCC has written a letter to the Lt Governor favouring the common people of these islands on the issues of Petroleum products and also met with the Lt Governor on 6th October, 2012 and requested him to consider 9 gas cylinders per annum in place of 6 such cylinders of 14.2 Kgs to the customers of CCS and Priya Indane throughout the islands.
Sharma has stated that in case the Administrator considers this proposal, then the common people will be tension free to some extent. Advocating for it Mr. Sharma has stated that many States in India have already taken action to this effect and their people will get 9 gas cylinders per annum. Further to it, Sharma has also appraised to the Lt Governor that many States in mainland have already reduced VAT on petroleum products as a welfare measure of the common people of their States to allow them some relief on procuring of these items.
Since there is no VAT applicable in these Islands, Octroi is being levied on Gas Cylinders, Petrol, Diesel and kerosene. Keeping in view of the fact that the people of these islands are staying in a remote place duly cut off from mainland and are deprived of many such facilities which their counterparts of mainland are enjoying and more to it, the standard of living of these islands is also very high because, for most of the necessary items they have to depend on the mainland based market, which when arrived here become costlier than the market price of the mainland based markets, Hence, Sharma has requested to the Lt Governor to consider reducing the rate of Octroi so levied on the above articles which are the necessities of the common people to allow them to have some ease to procure these items. The Lt. Governor gave a patient hearing and assured to look into the matter.
