Colour separation of LPG cylinders from mid-February

KATHMANDU, FEB 01: 

The Ministry of Commerce and Supplies (MoCS) has fixed yet another deadline for introducing differently coloured — red for domestic and blue for industrial use — Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinders in the market. 

The ministry is committed to introducing cylinders of different colours for domestic and industrial use from mid-February at any cost, said secretary at MoCS Lal Mani Joshi. He blamed the legal procedure for the delay in bringing LPG cylinders of different colours.

The colour separation process has taken time because the ministry had to complete various activities including finalising regulation, approving trademark, completing subsidy plan, and examining pricing mechanism, he said, adding the process will now be completed soon since the cabinet has already approved the plan. 

The government will adjust the price of blue colour cylinders but will continue with the existing price structure for red colour cylinders after completing the colour separation, said Joshi. He said that this mechanism will help reduce the loss being borne by Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC).

Acting managing director at NOC Suresh Kumar Agrawal said NOC has not reduced the quota of LPG being provided to bottling plants. Gas Dealers Federation of Nepal, however, said that the government’s failure in completing the dealer verification process has affected the consumer card distribution process. 

The card distribution process has been halted in the absence of a standard to verify dealers, said general secretary of the federation Maheshwar Shrestha, adding that the government should strictly prohibit LPG supply through grocers.

Senior vice president of Nepal LPG Industries Association Shiva Prasad Ghimire informed that the association has principally agreed to introduce separate colour LPG cylinders for domestic and industrial use. 

He, however, expressed his discontentment over the government’s plan to change the colour of at least 50 per cent cylinders to blue for industrial use. It is market which should determine how many cylinders are needed in the domestic sector and how many for industrial purposes, said Ghimire, urging the government to revisit the decision.

The Office of the Prime Minister had, in July, directed NOC to introduce LPG cylinders with separate colours for domestic and industrial purposes. Writing to the corporation, the office had urged the state-run oil company to implement the directive within 15 days.

Source: THT