Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today asked the Centre to pass on the benefit of falling global crude oil prices to the farming community by reducing diesel rates.
In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi today, Hooda has said the price differential be made a pass-through to the end-consumer, instead of reducing the subsidy given on diesel by Centre.
"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 wrote in the letter.
The farming community is facing pronounced hardships 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, Hooda said.
Petrol and diesel rates are due for revision on September 15.
The international crude prices, Hooda said, have been witnessing a downward trend for the past several months with Benchmark Brent Crude registering 14-month low of USD 99.59 per barrel on Monday from about USD 115 per barrel in May.
"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 USD 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," Hooda said.
This, he claimed, is all the more required in view of Centre'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".
"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," he said.
