Minister Bhatta promises subsidy on cooking gas

KATHMANDU, NOV 9: 

Experts said that Ministry of Commerce and Supplies’ plan to provide subsidy on Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) — popularly known as cooking gas — is nothing more than ‘cheap popularity’.

The country is not in a position to provide subsidy in the cooking gas that is widely used by the upper middle class, senior economist Prof Dr Bishwambher Pyakuryal said, adding that the ministry’s plan is neither financially viable nor practical.

“The country will have to bear Rs 3.5 billion burden annually to subsidise cooking gas,” secretary at the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies Purushottam Ojha revealed. “Apart from that, the state also has to spend huge amount of money to create distribution mechanism of dual pricing, according to a survey carried out last year,” he said, adding that the programme is not feasible unless the government creates effective mechanism.

Minister for commerce and supplies Lekh Raj Bhatta today said that he is planning to subsidise the cooking gas and introducing separate pricing for industrial and house-hold use.

“The ministry is planning to provide eight cylinder gas every year to each family as a ‘relief package’,” the minister said.

However, Pyakuryal claimed that it is not ‘a relief package’. “How can it be a relief package,” he questioned, adding that relief package is something that the state provides in the adverse situation like in natural calamity and disaster.

Bhatta is planning ‘discriminatory’ approach, if he is providing subsidy to a handful cooking gas users, he claimed.

According to Nepal Living Standards Survey III (NLSS III) 2010, only 17.7 per cent population have access to cooking gas so far. 

“If the government wants to provide relief to the people, it should invest in the alternative energy at the grassroots level, who are still reeling on solid fuel,” Pyakuryal suggested.

In spite of severe criticism from entrepreneurs and consumer rights activists, Bhatta has been repeatedly saying that he will put his best effort to introduce double price structure in cooking gas.

“However, no budget has been earmarked in the budget for the subsidy, Pyakuryal added. “This is the politics in the name of poor people,” he said, adding that how can the ministry serve only 17 per cent people since the country has already witnessed huge disparity between haves and have-nots.

The minister today again repeated his plan to jack up the price of petroleum products. “Due to volatile international price, there is no option left with the government except to hike the price,” Bhatta claimed.

Entrepreneurs, journalists blackmail

Minister for commerce and supplies Lekh Raj Bhatta on Tuesday blamed traders and journalists for blackmailing. “Some entrepreneurs and journalists are involved in blackmailing,” he said, adding that good journalists expose the reality behind the story but the corrupt ones are blackmailing. He however, didnot reveal the names. “Similarly, the ministry has started to crack down on profit seekers and black marketers, he claimed, asking for support.

Information leak to check honesty

Minister for commerce and supplies Lekh Raj Bhatta on Tuesday clarified that he intentionally leaked the information of price hike to check the integrity of entrepreneurs. “I leaked information to check their honesty,” he said, claiming that the ministry has deployed two teams to check whether dealers are hoarding petroleum products or not. It will scrap the licence, if dealers are found to be hoarding petroleum products, he said. But, dealers are hoarding gas.

Source: THT