Govt ready to roll back fuel price hike 50 pc
KATHMANDU, March 20: After strong protests by opposition parties in parliament as well as by students in the streets, the government has become ready to partially roll back the recent price hike in petroleum products.
The government made the move during a meeting with leaders from opposition parties at the Constituent Assembly (CA) building at New Baneshwar, Wednesday evening.
Though the opposition parties were positive toward the government´s proposal, they continued the disruption of parliamentary proceedings on Wednesday also as the ruling and opposition parties are yet to finalize the deal between them.
"We are near settling the issue as the government is ready to partially roll back the price hike. We are yet to finalize the deal and find a middle point," UCPN (Maoist) leader Shakti Basnet told Republica. "The issue will most likely be resolved by tomorrow and House proceedings will then resume."
According to party leaders involved in the negotiations, the government has indicated readiness to lower the price hike by around 50 percent. The two sides have also agreed to form a parliamentary committee to study the irregularities in the sector and suggest measures for reform at Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC).
NOC earlier this week increased the price of petrol by Rs 10 per liter, and that of kerosene and diesel by Rs 6 per liter.
"We have floated a proposal to address the concerns of the opposition parties and in view of the need for institutional reform at NOC," Forest Minister Mahesh Acharya, who is involved in the negotiations, told reporters after the parliamentary meeting. "This issue will be settled by tomorrow."
Persuaded by the government´s proposal to roll back the price hike by 50 percent, the opposition parties, including UCPN (Maoist), had agreed to resume the adjourned House proceedings on Wednesday evening. But this couldn´t materialize as some of the opposition parties were not satisfied with the deal.
Sources said it was mainly Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal that stood against the understanding reached earlier between the two sides.
Following the positive development, a meeting was convened at the prime minister´s chambers inside the CA hall. Prime Minister Sushil Koirala, other ministers and key leaders from various political parties were present.
Sources said UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal briefed the meeting about the positive response of opposition parties. "He just informed the meeting that they needed some time to consult some more opposition parties before finalizing the deal," said a party leader present at the meeting. They then proposed to defer the parliament meeting for Thursday and put up a notice at the CA building to that effect.
But Speaker Subas Nembang objected to the idea of deferring the meeting simply through a notice. "He proposed to the leaders to resume the meeting and announce the next date at the Hall itself," said another party leader.
After the speaker announced resumption of the House meeting, the opposition parties halted the proceedings. Basnet of the main opposition UCPN (Maoist) then addressed the meeting.
"The government is yet to properly address our demand. So we will continue the protests until the price hike is rolled back," said Basnet. The speaker, while urging the government to take serious initiatives to end the House obstruction, then announced the next meeting for Thursday.
The House meeting, which was originally scheduled to start by 1 p.m., was adjourned for hours as talks between the two sides remained conclusive. According to party leaders, in the beginning the opposition parties demanded that the government roll back the price hike by 75 percent while the government side was for a 40 percent roll back. Later, the two sides agreed to settle for 50 percent.
Source: REPUBLICA
