On a sweltering Tuesday, a cart of gas pumps in Hyderabad flashed a stark new price: Rs 117 per litre. The news hit the city's narrow lanes like a shockwave, sparking social media bursts and a surge of on‑street protests.
T Harish Rao, former Finance Minister and BRS deputy floor leader, flipped open a letter in front of the state assembly’s balcony tonight. He called on Chief Minister Revanth Reddy to slash the 35.2% VAT on petrol and the 27% VAT on diesel, rates that the state keeps stubbornly on top of India’s chart.
Truth is, Telangana’s fuel tax is among the highest nationwide. While most states charge between 20 and 25 percent on petrol, Telangana keeps the numbers anchored at 35.2 %. That gap translates into higher costs for motorists who already push their daily budgets to the limit.
Harish Rao blasted the ongoing burden on ordinary citizens. “Poor families, middle‑class earners, farmers, truck drivers and salaried employees are all feeling the pinch,” he wrote. He reminded that a Congress promise to ease fuel prices before elections went unsatisfied, and that the new government is still raking in a fortune from the VAT. If the tax stays as is, the state could pocket an extra Rs 2,000 crore annually.
But here’s the problem: higher fuel costs feed into rising prices across the board, from groceries to insurance. Normal households see their grocery bills climb as distributors pass on the extra charges. Meanwhile, transport operators and logistics firms shuffle their routes, squeezing delivery margins. The ripple effect could push inflation to new heights and amplify the cost of living crisis that already strains Telangana’s middle class.
Meanwhile, Revanth Reddy has defended the tax as a necessary source of revenue for state projects. Yet the public’s view is clear: the VAT seems to favor the coffers more than citizens. Whether the government will roll back the tax rates, or if it will seek another fiscal lever to ease the load, remains to be seen.
When the next polling station opens, will voters recall the high fuel price as a factor for change? Or will the tax debate fade into another political footnote as elections loom?
