Minister Thapa to remove NOC chief Bhatta

KATHMANDU, JAN 16 -

Under intense pressure from his party, Minister for Commerce and Supplies Sunil Bahadur Thapa is set to remove Nepal Oil Corporation ’s (NOC) chief Chandika Prasad Bhatta.

Ministry sources said Thapa is likely to table a proposal in this regard at the Cabinet on Friday. Thapa represents Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) in the Sushil Koirala-led coalition government.

According to sources, Thapa has been under pressure from RPP leaders to remove Bhatta after the latter stood firm on punishing 88 fuel tankers and four petrol pumps operators involved in an oil-theft case.

Seven months ago, a group of tanker drivers and their helpers were arrested red-handed while they were stealing oil from tankers along the Sunauli-Valwari route in Rupandehi. A police investigation had found a collusion between NOC staffers and tanker owners in the case.

Bhatta has been planning to allow 200 new oil tankers for Armed Police and Nepal Police -- a plan to which petroleum traders have been expressing reservations.

A file related to the matter has been forwarded to Chief Secretary Leela Mani Paudyal.

Bhatta has also been refusing to increase the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) quota for bottlers, who are pressuring the corporation to raise the quota to 33,000 tonnes from the existing 22,300 tonnes.

Amid his reluctance to address the petroleum traders’ demand, Thapa summoned Bhatta on Wednesday and requested him to tender his resignation.

The Post’s repeated phone calls to Thapa were not entertained.

Bhatta, however, has declined to tender his resignation despite the minister’s pressure. “I will not leave unless the Cabinet decides my fate,” he said. “A nexus, including petroleum traders, are feeling insecure with my presence at NOC, and they are doing their bit to remove me,” Bhatta said.

Sources said the shortage of cooking gas could be “artificially created” to put a question mark on Bhatta’s capability. Bhatta has been attributing the shortage to black-marketing and hoarding.

After repeated failures to appoint a chief at NOC following Digambar Jha’s removal on August 13, 2011, the government appointed Bhatta to the post as a stop-gap measure.

Bimal Wagle, chairman of the Public Enterprise Board, said the government can remove a person appointed as a stop-gap measure, if it plans to make a fresh appointment through free competition.

Source: The  Kathmandu Post