The President of parliamentary committee has directed Nepal Oil Corporation to immediately start digital tracking of 1.75 crore gas cylinders to end artificial shortages in market.
The President of Industry, Commerce, Labor and Consumer Welfare Committee of House of Representatives, Rahabar Ansari, has directed Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) to map all 1.75 crore gas cylinders in country. In a meeting on Tuesday, he said that NOC must put barcode or QR code on every cylinder to track them digitally. This tracking should link with Nepal Electricity Authority’s household data so government knows exactly who is using which cylinder and which company it belongs to.
President Ansari was angry that no progress was made even after 17 days of giving the mapping direction. He warned management of Nepal Oil Corporation to not do any delay. He said that if they cannot match speed of the committee, they should leave their positions. According to him, if we stop exchange of cylinders without codes within 30 days, the hoarded cylinders in market will automatically come out.
Reviewing Gas Prices and Subsidies
He also asked government to review same-price policy of gas. Right now, five-star hotels and big industries are also using the 14.2 kg domestic cylinders, which means government is paying huge subsidy for them. Ansari suggested to introduce 50, 100, and 450 kg cylinders for businesses, and 5 kg cylinders for students and low-income people.
He explained that government loses about Rs. 938 on each cylinder. Since businesses use around 7 lakh cylinders every month, about Rs. 65 crore subsidy goes to commercial sector. This costs billions of rupees every year. He urged government to give subsidy only to real home users, while making five-star hotels and big factories pay market price.
Finally, he requested Gas Manufacturers Association to work with Nepal Oil Corporation on tech solutions. He believes that mapping cylinders and separating commercial cylinders will easily solve problem of gas shortage, artificial hoarding, and wrong use of subsidies.
AI Disclaimer: This article was originally published on https://bajarkochirfar.com. It has been translated with the help of AI. For the best understanding and accurate facts, we recommend reading the original Nepali version.
