KATHMANDU: Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies, Gauri Kumari Yadav, has said that Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) should establish a gas industry under its jurisdiction to find a long-term solution to the problem of gas supply.

Speaking at a meeting of the Industry, Commerce, Labour and Consumers Welfare Committee under the House of Representatives today, Minister Thapa complained that the NOC has not received the required support from the LPG industry despite sending letters from time to time.

“We need a maximum of two gas industries in our country. All of them should be scrapped,” she said, adding, “The NOC must open a gas industry under its jurisdiction.” He said that although there are 58 gas industries in Nepal, none of them are under the corporation’s jurisdiction and despite repeated requests to ease the supply to the industrialists, they have not yielded the expected results.

“If 58 gas industries had sent cylinders to Kathmandu at the rate of Rs 3,000 every day, this situation would not have arisen today,” she said, adding, “But no one will send it.” Even yesterday, 48,000 cylinders left for Kathmandu. But not more than 19,000 have gone. Where did that cylinder go? No one knows anything. If asked, they would not give it. She expressed concern about where the 29,000 cylinders went. She said that Nepal should be self-reliant in five commodities — oil, gas, clothes, food grains and sugar.

Minister Kumari also complained that she did not get help from the bureaucracy in making and amending the laws related to the gas industry. She said that when the employees try to change the rules and regulations that have been made to suit the interests of the industrialists, the answer is ‘no’.

She said that there was a need to improve the customs exemption of raw materials and other issues to create an environment for opening industries. She said that the situation of importing finished goods would be cheaper but bringing raw materials and producing them in Nepal would not create an environment for opening industries. She informed the committee that market monitoring has been intensified to make supply management effective in view of the approaching festivals and to control black marketing and price rise.

The Food Management and Trading Company Limited has announced a discount of Rs 5 per kg on the sale price of food items under the Nepal Foods brand from 193 locations of 44 districts.

The Council of Ministers has approved to import 25,000 metric tonnes of sugar through the Salt Trading Corporation and 2,500 metric tonnes through the Food Management and Trading Company at one percent customs duty until October 3.

According to him, sugar is being sold at Rs 109 per kg from Food Management and Trading Company and Rs 105 per kg from Salt Trading. Stating that the price of sugar in the market is not less than Rs 150, she said that action will be taken if it is sold at more than the prescribed price.

Similarly, committee chairman Rahbar Ansari questioned the ministry about the increase in the price of sugar. She said that if 50,000-60,000 metric tonnes of sugar was imported from Thailand, Brazil and other countries on time, the present situation would not have arisen.

President Ansari said that the tendency of government bodies to pay unnecessarily high prices while purchasing software should be ended. She also urged the government to study the cost of the immigration software linked to the international and national offices.

She urged the ministry to formulate new laws and amend the necessary laws if there are not enough laws to control consumer welfare, cartels and black marketing. President Ansari also drew attention to the need to take action only after understanding the real situation while monitoring and taking action against the gas.