Consumer card distribution starts

HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE

KATHMANDU: Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai and minister for commerce and supplies Lekh Raj Bhatta on Tuesday will receive consumer cards from Gas Dealers Federation of Nepal that will start distributing the cards for the public from tomorrow.

Prime Minister and minister for commerce and supply will receive consumer card after paying Rs 10 amid a function that will be organised at the Office of the Prime Minister, former president of the federation Gyaneshwar Aryal said.

Co-incidently, the cooking gas brand used by the Prime Minister belongs to president of Nepal LP Gas Industries Association.

The dealers will provide form to consumers at Rs 10, which the consumers have to fill up and return to the dealers. “We will collect and submit the forms to the Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) for verification,” he added.

Along with the verification, the NOC will develop database of the consumers, said deputy director Sushil Bhattarai. “Consumer verification process and maintaining digital archive will also help find the real number of general consumers.”

The NOC will complete consumer cards distribution within 15 days. The government is planning to provide eight cylinders of cooking gas at subsidised rate to a family every year, according to Aryal. “The federation will issue a card to a family.”

The family separated from their parents will also be subject to receive consumer cards but they have to submit documents to verify their separation from their parents, he said.

Meanwhile, the NOC’s plan of verifying gas dealers for the purpose of ending irregularities has not yet completed due to tug of war between the two associations, Gas Dealers Federation of Nepal and Nepal LP Gas Industries Association.

The federation has a total of 9,000 member dealers, according to Aryal. “Out of the total, some 5,000 are in the Kathmandu valley. But, only 1,200 dealers have approached the federation for the verification so far,” he said, adding that some 2,500 dealers are expected to come for the verification in the Kathmandu valley and the equal number of dealers are expected to go through verification out of the valley.

He, however, could not elaborate how to manage those dealers who do not wish to be affiliated under the federation.

“The consumer card distribution system will be ineffective, if the ministry fails to bring bottling plants and dealers — which are opposing the federation — to take into confidence,” said under secretary at the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies Nutaraj Pokharel.