& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Fuels to turn even pricier

Proposal sent to govt on raising prices up to Tk 30 a litre in phases by this fiscal year

Reiaul Karim Byron
The government may increase fuel prices further in the current fiscal year to cut its huge subsidy on petroleum products.
The Finance Division last week sent a proposal to
the prime minister to hike fuel prices by a minimum of Tk 14 to a maximum of Tk 30 a litre in three phases in the current fiscal year, said finance ministry officials.
Prices of petroleum products except furnace oil had been increased by Tk 5 a litre last week in line with the proposal.
If the prices are raised further according to the proposal, petrol will cost Tk 90 a litre with the minimum hike of Tk 14 and Tk 106 per litre with the maximum increase ofTk 30.
Officials of finance and energy ministries said further increase in prices of petroleum products and its extent will depend on their prices on international
market.
No decision had been made about hiking fuel prices in the future in last week's meeting between Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and high-ups of the ministries concerned.
Hasina asked the minis-
tries to conduct a detailed study on the proposed price hike's effects on different sectors including transport, food, and agriculture.
The ministries have already started working on it, said a finance ministry official preferring anonymity.
The prime minister directed the ministries to suggest hike or decrease in fuel prices in keeping with their prices on the global market, so that the issue cannot be used for political gains.
The Finance Division presented four alternative proposals at the meeting for reducing government subsidy on
petroleum products, the official said.
The proposal said the subsidy will stand at Tk 17,704 crore, if prices of petroleum products are not increased in the current fiscal year.
The subsidy will come down to Tk 10,827 crore, if prices of petroleum products are raised by Tk 14 a litre in three phases. The subsidy will slide toTk3,680 crore, if the prices are increased by Tk 30 a litre.
The finance ministry calculated the subsidy taking into account an average fuel price of $ 127.56 per barrel as the base in the current fiscal year.
A high-up of the energy ministry said some quarters have claimed that the government's fuel purchase costs have decreased in recent times. But it is not true, as they made the claim based on prices of low quality fuel on the international market.
The official said the government subsidy will be reduced by only Tk 3,500 to Tk 4,000 crore even after the recently set prices of petroleum products.
Fuel prices in Bangladesh are lower than that of neighbouring India. The price of diesel is Tk 69.98 a litre in India compared to Tk 51 a litre in Bangladesh, he said.
The price of diesel was $122.61 per barrel or Tk
57.54 a litre on the international market on September 19. But the end price stands at Tk 72.78 a litre after other costs are added to the purchase price.
The official said the government subsidy on fuel has risen because of its increasing import for quick rental power plants.
Nearly 49 lakh tonnes of fuel were imported in the last fiscal year. Of those, 9.26 lakh tonnes were consumed by power plants. In the current fiscal year, the government plans to import 69 lakh tonnes of fuel, 21.50 lakh tonnes of which will be used by power plants.
Mirza Azizul Islam, former adviser to caretaker government, said the government subsidy must be reduced for the sake of healthy management of the public sector.
In that case, two things have to be taken into consideration — the amount of subsidy to be reduced and finding scopes for slashing spending in unproductive sectors.
He said the government does not seem interested in minimising spending in the unproductive sectors.
The government has been increasing subsidies to help loss-making jute mills. Instead, it could channel the subsidies to the energy sector that has many implications on the economy, said the former
adviser.
The whole matter should be seen from a holistic approach, he added.