Kathmandu, October 9

Parliamentary Committee on Public Account today directed Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) to expedite the process of awarding contract on airlifting petroleum products to preferred bidder.

The instruction was issued a day after NOC, the country’s petroleum monopoly, published a global tender notice, calling on interested parties to submit bid documents for supply of petrol, diesel, kerosene, cooking gas and aviation turbine fuel for 15 days.

NOC has given a deadline of three days to submit the bid documents.

“NOC should shortlist preferred bidder within three to four days of expiry of bid submission deadline and hand over the contract,” Public Account Committee (PAC) Chairman Janardan Sharma said.

During today’s meeting, lawmakers called on the government to go to whatever extent to ease the fuel supply, which has been disrupted by protests in the Tarai and sudden drop in number of tankers ferrying petroleum products from India.

“If the government has to declare a state of emergency, declare it and make necessary amendments to laws or introduce ordinance. But fuel supply has to be smoothened,” said lawmaker of Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML), Pashupati Chaulagain.

Nepali Congress (NC) lawmaker Ram Hari Khatiwada also backed Chaulagain’s call.

Today’s meeting, however, failed to chart out ways to ease the fuel supply because of the absence of key government ministers and officials.

PAC had called Minister for Commerce and Supplies Sunil Bahadur Thapa to attend the meeting. But he sent his deputy State Minister for Commerce and Supplies Giri Bahadur KC.

CPN-UML lawmakers Bhanu Bhakta Dhakal said he wanted to listen to Minister Thapa, who had recently met with some of the Indian ministers during his trip to India. “He should come and tell us what he discussed with the Indian ministers.”

The PAC had also called Chief Secretary Som Lal Subedi, but the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers sent Secretary Prem Kumar Rai. Similarly, Finance Secretary Suman Prasad Sharma and Commerce and Supplies Secretary Naindra Prasad Upadhaya also skipped the meeting despite being invited.

“The absence of ministers and high-ranking officials speaks volumes about the lackadaisical attitude of the government and what they are doing to address the problems being faced by the country,” said NC lawmaker Khatiwada.

The PAC has rescheduled the meeting for Saturday. Prime Minister Sushil Koirala, Foreign Affairs Minister Mahendra Bahadur Pandey, Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat, Home Minister Bam Dev Gautam, Commerce and Supplies Minister Thapa, Chief Secretary Subedi and leaders of parliamentary parties have been invited to the meeting.