Waive taxes for MSRTC, Transport Minister urges CM

State Transport Minister Diwakar Raote on Monday urged Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to waive State taxes on diesel for the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC).

Mr. Raote said the steady rise in the prices of diesel had severely affected the MSRTC and has threatened to affect the payment of salaries of its employees. Mr. Raote in his letter to the Chief Minister said that the rising fuel prices had increased the financial burden on MSRTC by ₹400 crore every year.

Fare hike on cards

He said that the MSRTC was also mulling over hiking the fares to tackle the increasing cost of fuel. Abhijit Bhosale, spokesperson for MSRTC, said the details of the fare hike were yet to be worked out.

MSRTC officials said diesel prices were at ₹58.02 per litre in May 2017, but have now increased to an average of ₹68.39 per litre across the State. The officials said that they would also have to factor in a wage revision for the MSRTC’s one lakh employees.

Officials said that while diesel prices have been increasing for the last six months, they have resisted from hiking the fares. MSRTC had last increased fares in 2014. The transport utility runs 17,000 buses across Maharashtra.