Lucknow, Feb 25 (IANS): The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has said that there is no proposal to reduce tax on petrol and diesel as revenue is needed to ensure betterment of health services and other development works due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Replying to a question by Samajwadi Party (SP) MLA, Narendra Verma during the question hour in the state Assembly on Thursday, state minister Satish Mahana said, "There is no proposal under consideration to reduce tax on petrol and diesel in view of the resources and financial requirements for improving health facilities and other developmental works keeping in mind the Covid-19 pandemic."

He further said, "At present, consumers in Uttar Pradesh are getting diesel at a lower price than the states of Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Punjab and Uttarakhand."

He added that petrol also is available at lower prices in Uttar Pradesh as compared to Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Punjab, Orissa, Delhi, Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh.

About the decrease in the LPG prices, the minister said since the Goods and Services Tax (GST) came in force on July 1, 2017, the state has no right to reduce the tax. "It is for the GST council to decide on it," he said.

The opposition, Congress and SP, staged a walkout, saying the government was "anti-farmers, anti-women, and anti-common man".