SHILLONG, Sept 5 - Prices of petrol and diesel in Meghalaya will get dearer as the Government today decided to withdraw the rebate on these two items. The Meghalaya Cabinet has decided that the rebate of Rs 2.50 on petrol and diesel should be withdrawn.
Home Minister James Sangma said the rebate was introduced on October 4, 2018. The rebate was introduced as the prices of petrol and diesel soared throughout the country just months before the General Elections last year.
�The Cabinet has decided to withdraw the rebate as this has been causing loss to the exchequer,� he stated. As of now, the price of petrol stands at Rs 69. 37 and that of diesel at Rs 62.97.
As on March 31 this year, the total loss from the rebate was Rs 61.60 crore. The total loss was 47.55 crore from the rebate on diesel and Rs. 14.15 crore from petrol.
On the other hand, the Cabinet has decided to hike the sitting allowance of legislators in the Assembly which begins from tomorrow. The allowance will now double from Rs 600 to Rs 1,200 per sitting in the Assembly and also those in the Assembly committees.
The pension benefits of ex-MLAs will also be increased together with the introduction of a driver�s allowance of Rs 10,000 for former legislators.
The other Cabinet decisions taken included amendment to the Meghalaya Forest Regulation Act and removal of bamboo from the list of forest items.
�From now on, bamboo would not be treated as a forest item and will no longer be identified as a tree under the Act,� Sangma said.
