LPG subsidy for college students below 26

SHIROMANI DHUNGANA

KATHMANDU: The government has decided to distribute LPG subsidy cards to college students — from Plus Two to masters — to make it easier for them to get cooking gas at subsidised rate.

However, the committee headed by National Planning Commission member Janak Shah has recommended the government to provide subsidy cards only to those below 26 years of age, assuming that all those above 26 years will be gainfully employed.

“School students will not be eligible to get cooking gas at subsidised rate,” under secretary at the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies Nutaraj Pokharel told THT. “The students, whose parents are jobholders and those who are themselves employed will not be eligible for subsidy.”

“Students should be unemployed to get the subsidy on cooking gas,” Pokharel, who is one of the members of the recommendation committee, said, adding that they have recommended to provide an LPG cylinder to eligible students once every three months.

The Ministry of Commerce and Supplies has forwarded the proposal to the Finance Ministry for its approval, he said, adding that the formal process of providing subsidy cards to students will begin after approval from the Finance Ministry.

The Ministry of Education will be responsible to take necessary action after the approval from the Finance Ministry. “Educational institutions and universities will start the process of distributing subsidy cards to students,” he said. “Students will receive cooking gas at subsidised rate only after providing detailed information and documents to check fake students from could claiming the benefit.”

Meanwhile, the Gas Dealers’ Federation of Nepal will start the distribution of consumer cards for general public from April 17. The Ministry of Commerce and Supplies will provide a cylinder of cooking gas at subsidised rate every month to the general public through dealers. “But the actual number of gas dealers is yet to be calculated though the government has decided to distribute consumer cards using Gas Dealers’ Federation of Nepal,” said deputy director at the corporation Sushil Bhattarai. He said the federation told NOC that it had collected a list of 800 dealers so far.

The corporation had on March 11 directed all bottling plants to submit details of dealers within three days or face action — cancellation of Product Delivery Order. But the warning made no impact.

NOC-IOC pact on April 28

KATHMANDU: Nepal Oil Corporation and Indian Oil Corporation will ink a new agreement on April 28, according to NOC. “A team from IOC will arrive on April 27 and the agreement will be inked on April 28.” The new agreement will be valid for five years. The five-year petroleum supply agreement between NOC and IOC expired on March 31.