Joshi accuses govt of collecting over Rs 60,000 crore through price hikes

Hubballi: Union Minister Pralhad Joshi has accused the Congress government in Karnataka of collecting more than Rs 60,000 crore annually from people through increases in prices, taxes and service charges, even as it promotes its guarantee schemes as welfare measures.

Addressing a press conference in Hubballi, Joshi criticised Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar’s recent statement that Karnataka would consider reducing bus fares if the Centre lowered petrol and diesel prices. The minister presented figures on fuel taxes imposed by the Centre and the state, arguing that Karnataka’s levies were substantially higher.

Joshi said the government had increased prices of milk, bus tickets and several other services during the festive season, describing the move as a “bankruptcy gift” to the public.

According to figures presented by him, electricity tariff revisions were generating an additional Rs 12,000 crore annually, while increased charges for single-site land conversion were bringing in Rs 15,000 crore. Petrol and diesel price increases accounted for Rs 6,000 crore, while excise duty on liquor contributed Rs 4,500 crore.

He also cited additional revenue from vehicle registration taxes, stamp duty, higher property guidance values, KSRTC fares, panchayat e-Khata charges and Namma Metro ticket prices. The figures included Rs 3,712 crore from vehicle registration, Rs 3,000 crore from stamp duty and Rs 2,000 crore from revised guidance values.

On fuel taxation, Joshi claimed the Centre levied Rs 10.90 per litre on petrol and Rs 7.80 on diesel, against Karnataka’s taxes of Rs 26 and Rs 21.17 respectively. He said the Centre had made only a limited increase during the war situation.

He further alleged that higher mining royalties, penalties and registration charges, along with increased transformer repair costs, were adding to the burden on ordinary citizens.

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