Mangaluru: Deputy Leader of the Opposition and Mangaluru City MLA U T Khader on Monday claimed that the petroleum companies have begun rationing petrol and diesel for petrol bunks.
The MLA, while addressing reporters at the District Congress Bhavan, alleged that the Centre had directed the companies to impose a ceiling on the quantity of petrol supplied to the petrol bunks.
This has been resulting in financial loss for petrol bunk owners, he said.
If the rationing continues, the small agencies have to close down their business. Already, some private players have shut down, he claimed.
Khader, stating that such rationing was the first-of-its- kind in the country’s history, urged the government to remove restrictions and allow the companies to supply petrol as per demand, without any ceiling.
He also urged the Centre to reduce GST on petrol and diesel.
He charged that the reduction in the prices of petrol and diesel by the Centre was a gimmick.
The move is done calculatingly, keeping in mind the upcoming Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat elections. After the elections, the prices will be increased again, he predicted.
He also urged the Centre to release the GST amount collected from the state.
Khader alleged that the government has not constituted a high-level committee to inquire into the works done towards the prevention of sea erosion, with ADB assistance.
He said he has already submitted a letter to the government in this regard.
Only Rs 10 crore is provided in the budget to prevent sea erosion. There will be heavy sea erosion during the first and second weeks of July. But, the work has not been started. The district administration and the government should wake up, he added.
‘No clarity’
Khader further said that there is no clarity with the government on the prevention of sound pollution.
No format has been provided. The officials are clueless, he said.
On textbooks, he wanted to know why in the first place the PDF of the textbooks were removed from the education department website.
Why has the printing been stopped and why have the textbooks not reached the schools yet? he asked.
During the Congress government, shoes, bicycles and laptops were provided to the students. But, now, all these have been stopped and only training for self-defence is provided, he added.