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Dual pricing for diesel under study: Deora

Special Correspondent

Murli Deora

NEW DELHI: Ruling out any cut in petrol and diesel prices, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Murli Deora on Friday said the government was considering dual pricing for diesel.

Oil marketing companies (OMCs) were projected to lose about Rs. 1,00,000 crore on diesel sale this year as the subsidised fuel was being increasingly used in industries for power generation. The luxurious car segment was also using subsidised diesel. “Why should people who travel in luxury cars be sold subsidised diesel,” the Minister asked, talking to journalists on the sidelines of a function held here to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Columbian government.

Difficult option

The OMCs had proposed to the Ministry that diesel for industries and big cars be sold at Rs. 57 a litre. It was now being sold at Rs. 34.80 at petrol pumps. “We are considering the dual pricing option but it is very difficult to implement,” Mr. Deora said.

The Minister said the OMCs were still incurring heavy losses in spite of the decline in international crude prices.

Global prices fell $35 a barrel in the past few weeks. “We will consider a price reduction for vehicular fuel if the international oil prices fall further.”

Meanwhile, the BJP demanded that the retail price of petrol and diesel be reduced by Rs. 5 and 3 a litre immediately.

“For, the international crude price had fallen from $140 to $105 a barrel in the past two weeks,” party spokesman Prakash Javadekar told journalists.

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