Kathmandu, October 24

The executive director’s post at Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC), which has remained vacant for more than a year, is likely to be filled soon as the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies (MoICS) has started the appointment process for the NOC’s top post.

The MoICS had called applications from interested qualified candidates to lead NOC a month back and 17 candidates have submitted their applications to the government, as per Nabaraj Dhakal, joint secretary at MoICS.

The NOC’s top post went vacant after the government sacked the then executive director of the corporation, Gopal Bahadur Khadka, from his post for his alleged

involvement in financial irregularities while purchasing land meant for the development of fuel storage infrastructure across the country.

“The government will now analyse the applications of all candidates who have applied for the post and hire the best one to lead NOC,” informed Dhakal.

Those who have applied for the NOC’s top post include Govinda Prasad Kharel, Saroj Koirala, Taranath Poudel, Mukesh Kafle, Ram Prasad Dhimal, Pralayankar Acharya and Shiva Ram Yadav, among other candidates.

Due to the lack of leadership at NOC, the corporation has not been able to take major decisions related to the development of petroleum infrastructure and country’s fuel trade. The development of fuel storage facilities across the country to secure uninterrupted supply of fuel for at least three months amid any crisis and diversification of fuel trade were the major agendas of NOC, especially after the country suffered a fuel crunch following obstructions at the southern border in 2015. However, both these agendas of NOC have not moved ahead since the corporation’s top post went vacant.