Petrol, diesel crisis: Kerala moves to soften 'crude' blow; to cut fuel prices by Rs 1 per litre from 1 June

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government on Wednesday announced a Rs 1 reduction, per litre, in the price of petrol and diesel from Friday i.e. 1 June, in a bid to provide some relief to people hit by rising fuel costs.

Addressing reporters in Thiruvananthapuram after the weekly cabinet meeting, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said: "The state government has decided to forego Re 1 from its tax portion and as a result, the loss to the exchequer would be Rs 509 crore in a year."

A file image of Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan. PTI.

"We wish to send a message to the Centre that despite pleas from several quarters, it is not doing anything to bring some relief to the people.

"The price of fuel products is rising when international prices are falling. We did this because we wish to show our intent," Vijayan added.

On Wednesday, in Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai, petrol retailed at Rs 78.42, Rs 81.05, Rs 86.23 and Rs 81.42 per litre respectively, with prices down one paisa from Tuesday, according to revised data available on the Indian Oil (IOC) website.

In tandem with the trend in petrol rates, diesel sold at Rs 69.50, Rs 71.85, Rs 73.78 and Rs 73.17 per litre in Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai respectively on Wednesday, all down one paisa.

A further fall in domestic fuel prices is expected as global crude oil prices eased recently.

Prices of petrol in Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai reached record levels over the past two weeks and were seen scaling new highs everyday. In Kolkata, the fuel sold at near four-year high levels.