Govt may hike fuel cess by Re 1 to fund highways

Consumers might have to shell out a higher cess on auto fuels if the government goes ahead with a proposal to step up funding for highways. According to highly-placed government sources, the actual hike may be 50 paise per litre, though the final call will be taken by the Prime Minister’s Office, the finance ministry and the Planning Commission.
An increase of 50 paise per litre would fetch the government an additional Rs 5,000 crore. The government collected nearly Rs 30,000 crore through the cess during 2008-09 .