Kathmandu, Jan. 10:Minister of Supplies Ram Krishna Tamrakar today said that the government was doing homework to reduce the price of the petroleum products and would soon take a decision about it.
“We have been closely watching the latest developments in the international market and will reduce the price of petroleum products if it remains low for a considerable time period,” Tamrakar said addressing the 31st anniversary of Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) here this afternoon.
The government had increased the price of petroleum products (hundred per cent in case of kerosene) about three months ago citing price rise in the international market. The cost of petroleum has however gone down significantly during this period.
Tamrakar said that the decisions of the NOC affected the lives of all the countrymen and appealed to the employees to work honestly and dutifully to check leakages and irregularities.
Tamrakar said that the Corporation should be guided by the principle of public welfare and take initiatives to develop petroleum and alternative energy within the country. “The government will support the Corporation to carry out the projects that aim at developing petroleum and natural gas.”
Supply Ministry’s Acting Secretary Kalyan Bahadur Pradhan urged the Corporation to be transparent in its business and enhance its distribution system to overcome frequent shortages of petroleum products in the country. “The Corporation should also be more watchful to check adulteration in petroleum products.”
Welcoming the guests, NOC’s Executive Director Madan Raj Sharma said that the Corporation had adopted measures to supply quality products to the consumers. He claimed that the petrol supplied by the Corporation was free of lead while the diesel contained less than 0.25 per cent of sulphur. “This has been instrumental in checking air pollution.”
Responding to the news reports that the accounts of the Corporation were not intact, Sharma said that all the accounts would be audited and settled by the end of the current fiscal year.
Sharma said that the Corporation had a plan to expand its storage capacity to meet the emergency requirements. The existing storage capacity of the Corporation can fulfil the fuel needs for a month.
The consumption of petroleum products has increased sixteen-fold during the last three decades with 10-12 per cent annual growth. The Corporation has a network of 1,600 retailers nation-wide to supply the petroleum products.
“With a gradual rise in its business, the Corporation has been collecting more revenue,” said Sharma. “We have a target of paying three billion rupees to the government during this fiscal year.”
“The Corporation also has a plan to set up gas storage centres in various parts of the country in to improve the gas supply system,” Sharma said. The consumers in Kathmandu have been facing a shortage of cooking gas for a couple of months now.
On the occasion, Minister Tamrakar also gave away medals and certificates to the employees who had worked with the Corporation for 25 years. He also awarded the winners of the sports competition organised to mark the anniversary.