Dharmendra Pradhan slams BJD Govt over VAT Hike

Union Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan has slammed the BJD government led by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik over the recent hike in VAT on petrol and diesel prices.

“A higher VAT will ensure less business for the state, as vehicles will purchase diesel from other states instead of Odisha. This is an immature and ridiculous move by the state government,” said Dharmendra Pradhan. He also warned the Odisha Government against waging a proxy war on the Centre and advised it to work towards the goal of serving the people of the state.

Mr. Pradhan further revealed that the Modi Government has decided to invest Rs 1 lakh crore in the petroleum sector in Odisha over the next five years. He also talked about the coal block auction, saying states like Odisha and Jharkhand will get total profit of the auction money during the bidding process. Odisha may get Rs 1 – 1.5 lakh crore in the next 20 years from coal block allocation, he claimed.

Shri Dharmendra Pradhan also said that the Union Government is putting emphasis on solar and wind energy production in all states on the lines of Gujarat Model, which has been a huge success.

More importantly, the centre has decided to introduce a pilot project in economicall weaker states like Odisha, where LPG connections will be offered to the BPL families at a low price, approximately Rs 1200 – 1400 less than actual price, he said.

The Petroleum & Natural Gas department has also created an online complaint forum on its website www.mylpg.in, where the consumers can lodge complaints related to gas connection issues. All decisions were taken on 25th Dec, the Good Governance Day declared by the Govt.