Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Even as the beautification tax continues to make fuel costlier in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar compared to other cities, the municipal corporation has not received a single penny from this additional surcharge levied by the government.
With a series of hikes in petrol and diesel prices in quick succession, citizens of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar are demanding the scrapping of the additional taxation on fuel.
“It is unjust to levy beautification tax on fuel in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. It is like daylight robbery for the citizens,” said Yogesh Dharashivkar, a private professional.
Around 3% and 2% beautification tax was introduced on petrol and diesel respectively in 2008, and the practice continues to this day.
According to fuel retailers, even many government officials and elected representatives are unaware of the extra taxation on fuel in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. “Even civic officials admit that the money charged does not get transferred to the municipal corporation. Then the question arises: where does this money go and what sort of beautification has been done by collecting extra money from buyers?” a fuel retailer said, preferring anonymity.
Notably, the beautification tax is levied by fuel outlets situated within the municipal limits. “The prices of fuel in fringe areas are lower compared to city limits. It leads to loss of business as many people buy fuel from fringe areas,” said another retailer.
With the latest hike in fuel prices, petrol was sold at Rs 112.88 per litre in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, and diesel was priced at Rs 99.5 per litre on Monday. These prices are higher than those in other metro cities, including Pune (petrol: Rs 111.48, diesel: Rs 98.5) and Mumbai (petrol: Rs 111.12, diesel: Rs 97.78), as per the official portal of BPCL.
District guardian minister Sanjay Shirsat could not be reached for his comments.
