Shillong, May 27: Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma has ruled out fuel rationing in the state for now even as he urged the citizens to prepare for uncertainty in the wake of the ongoing war in Middle-East.
“The high rise of petrol, as you are aware, has a lot to do with the external factor of the war … it is impacting everyone,” Sangma said on Wednesday.
Pointing out that the impact is just on Meghalaya or only India, he said the phenomenon has hit the world at large.
“Many nations had to go into even austerity in terms of rationalising the quantity of fuel being given to individuals,” he said.
Asserting that Meghalaya had not reached that stage, he said, “I do not expect that we will reach it but of course, uncertainty looms ahead for us, so we have to be careful.”
Referring to the Centre’s stand, he said, “I think the Prime Minister’s larger message is that it is not the time that we need to panic, but we definitely need to see what we can do because of the uncertainty that is there.”
“What we can do as individuals is to prepare for the uncertainty that is in front of us, so, I think that is the larger picture,” he added.
“It is a difficult time, we urge our citizens that we must stand together…” Sangma said.
Noting that fuel prices in the state remain below the national average, he said, “We will try our best to see that there is no shortage.”
On measures to curb artificial price rise, he said, “We will ensure that there is no kind of hoarding or stocking that could lead to any kind of rise in prices.”
“But in the meantime, I think everybody has to just prepare through these uncertain times,” he added.
On demands to cut state taxes, Sangma said Meghalaya’s rates are already low. “Every state can reduce state tax, we are already low compared to others… it affects our revenues… we also have our own expenditures to meet,” he said.
“The country’s smallest states, like us, have got less sources of revenue and, therefore, it is a very difficult call for us,” he said.
“We need to see the impact that it will have on our own state’s resources and the resources we require to run,” he added.
