On October 16, Pune Municipal Corporation's law committee proposed a two per cent cut in octroi on petrol that now stands at four per cent. And when it came up for vote, the general body on Monday decided to raise the cut to three per cent, effectively bringing down the octroi on petrol in the city limits to one per cent. The matter took all of five minutes to get cleared. The result -- Puneites will get a reduction in their petrol bill to the tune of Rs 1.40 per litre, once the state government approves the cut.

Clearly, a move that had `woo the voters' written all over it, PMC's general body unanimously decided to forego annual revenue to the tune of Rs 24 crore. Although a special general body meeting was called to take the decision, no discussion was held.

Presently, the PMC earns Rs 40 crore a year from octroi on petrol. Once the rate cut is ratified by the state government, a process expected to take about a month, the civic body's earnings from this head would come down to Rs 16 crore.