Leaders of eight political parties have said that the price of the petroleum products should not be increased before demonstrating reforms in the management of Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) to the people at large.

Speaking at an interaction on “Present Situation of Supplies of Petro Products: Problems and Challenges,” the leaders said that the NOC should be subjected to extensive internal reforms and private sector should also be involved in its transactions in a competitive manner.

Binaya Dhoj Chand, leader of Nepali Congress (NC), said that the option of price hike could be counterproductive if it is not preceded by demonstrated reforms within NOC.

UML leader and former minister Rajendra Pandey said that any decision to hike the petro price at this point could affect the Constituent Assembly (CA) elections as it was likely to trigger street unrest. He urged the NOC to clarify what improvements it has registered in its management in recent times.

Likewise, Sunil Prajapati, leader of Nepal Workers and Peasants Party (NWPP), said that options like importing cheaper fuel from China should be explored. Keshav Nepal of Maoists stressed on rooting out corruption within the corporation.

At the interaction organised by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, joint secretary Purushottam Ojha presented a grim picture of NOC’s financial situation. He informed that monthly losses of NOC stand at Rs 1.9 million currently. The NOC currently needs to pay total outstanding debts of over Rs 10 billion – Rs 5.95 billion to Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Rs 4.24 billion to banks.

However, the authorised capital of NOC is just over Rs 500 million. “The cumulative losses since a long time and the huge debts have made NOC’s financial condition really poor,” said Ojha.

Rajendra Mahato, Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies, urged all the political parties to come forth with common understanding to improve the situation.