Minister Badu: Petroleum price hike compulsory

Kathmandu: Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Dilendra Prasad Badu has said that the price has to be increased compulsorily to keep the supply system of petroleum products smooth.

Addressing a meeting of the House of Representatives on Tuesday on the issue of public importance, Minister Badu said that the price of petroleum products was continuously increasing in the international market and there was an obligation to adjust the price accordingly.

He said that the Nepal Oil Corporation had incurred a loss of Rs 50 billion till mid-June alone. He said that the Indian Oil Corporation was in arrears of Rs 22 billion and that the price had to be adjusted to ease the supply arrangements as the amount due to the corporation was increasing. He blamed the Russia-Ukraine war on a global energy crisis and rising oil prices.

Minister Badu also said that the government has taken a policy to reduce the consumption of LP gas and increase the consumption of electricity by providing relief in electricity tariff and tax exemption to increase the use of electrical appliances including electric stoves. He also mentioned that the government has a policy to give exemption in electricity tariff to the industries that use electricity.

Tags: Crisis, Nepal Oil Corporation, Petrol, Price, Rise