Arithmetic of connivance

The fresh hike in petroleum and gas prices are untenable. The decision will squeeze down not only the common man but also whatever industrial production is left behind. The exports are already in a fix owing to their un-competitive pricing, and soaring inflation has played havoc with the purchasing power. Increasing the price of petrol and diesel by Rs7.45 and Rs9.56, respectively, on the first day of the new fiscal year has simply confirmed that the worst is yet to come. This rise in fuel prices has just come a day after an enhanced levy was slapped by raising it to Rs70 per litre from Rs60 in the hastily passed tax-loaded Finance Bill, and subsequently issuing a notification of a 9% increase in gas rates for industrial captive power units.

The government, perhaps, is clueless and is not mindful of ramifications. The dispensation, it seems, just wants to stay put in power and for it the only chartered territory is to seek another sizzling bailout from the IMF to the tune of $8 billion for the next three years. This roulette of statistics is apparently meant to collect a staggering Rs1.28 trillion from petroleum sales in the new fiscal year against previous year’s Rs960 billion. In the same vein, the wayward coalition has gone back on its promise to provide relief in average gas rates accruing from lower international oil prices for all other consumers, and on the regulator’s plea has decided to absorb a Rs132 billion price cut to finance a part of circular debt, instead of providing relief to consumers. This arithmetic of connivance is anti-people and anti-development, to say the least.

The budget, and its aftermath with this rise in energy prices, have unnerved the salaried class through multiple taxation, and pushed the poor in a miserable race for survival. It is leading to chaos, and protests and lockdowns are on the anvil. The government cannot absolve itself by financing its purse on illogically raised tariffs and taxes. This nexus of turpitude must come to an end.