Chandigarh, Sept 12—The Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, has urged the Central Government to pass on the benefit of the reduced diesel prices to the farming community which has been facing either drought or floods in different parts of the country.
In a communication to the Prime Minister, Mr Narendra Modi, Mr Hooda has said that the price differential be made a pass-through to the end-consumer, instead of reducing the subsidy given on diesel by the Central Government. “I am confident that the Government of India under your dynamic leadership will take this farmer-friendly step to give immediate relief to the farming community at large”, he said.
The farming community is facing pronounced hardship this year due to drought conditions exacerbated by scanty rainfall in some parts of the country and floods caused by excessive and untimely rains in others, Mr Hooda said. In Haryana, the farmers are coping with the situation by resorting to irrigation powered by electric and diesel pump sets. Diesel is indeed an essential fuel that helps farmers tide over such difficult situations. Therefore, increasing access and affordability of diesel to farmers is of prime importance to sustain the agrarian economy and livelihood of farmers.
The international crude prices, Mr Hooda pointed out, have been witnessing a downward trend for the past several months with Benchmark Brent Crude registering 14-month low of $ 99.59 per barrel on Monday from about $ 115 per barrel in May, 2014. Accordingly, there has been a sharp decline of about 15 per cent in the price during the last four months. This is the first time that the price per barrel went below $100 since June last year. Consequently, international diesel prices are also registering a downward trend.
“In view of the difficult situation faced by the farmers in our country, I strongly urge the Government of India to consider passing on this benefit of reduced diesel prices to the farming community by making the price differential a pass-through to the end-consumer price instead of reducing the subsidy being given by the Central Government”, Mr Hooda demanded.
This is all the more required in view of GOI’s decision to effect monthly price hikes in diesel to offset the under-recoveries of public sector oil marketing companies, which has increased the burden on farmers, albeit in a staggered manner, he added.