Kathmandu:The meeting today of the Council of Ministers decided to give students, the poor and the farmers 33 per cent concession in the market price of petroleum products.

The meeting held at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers decided to form a task force within three days and develop a procedure for the same, said Finance Minister Barshaman Pun.

He, however, said the concession would be provided in cooking gas and kerosene only.

The Government took the decision as per the agreement reached earlier in the day between Prime Minister Dr. Baburam Bhattarai and various 13 students’ organizations.

The student leaders, however, said an agreement had been reached to provide concession to farmers in diesel price.

The Cabinet today also decided to provide a loan of Rs. two billion to Nepal Oil Corporation for regular and easy supply of petroleum products.

A task force under the convenorship of a member of the National Planning Commission has been constituted in order to develop an action plan on the 33 per cent concession approved by the Council of Ministers, Minister for Commerce and Supplies, Lekhraj Bhatta, said.

The task force will have representatives from the Ministries of Finance, Commerce, Home and Agriculture, and from Nepal Rastra Bank and Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC).

Likewise, a separate task force has been constituted under the Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Commerce to monitor the status of supplies, control of leakage and for strengthening of the NOC.

Minister Bhatta said the government’s decision would lead to the withdrawal of the students’ agitation and supplies would also ease.

President of ANNFSU (Revolutionary), Himal Sharma said the Government’s decision to give 33 per cent concession was a result of the students’ movement.

Earlier Our Staff Reporter adds:

Agitating 13 students’ unions have postponed their protests for three days following their talks with Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai on Thursday when the government agreed to provide 33 per cent concession on kerosene, diesel and gas for students and underprivileged group.

The unions decided to put off the protest programme for three days as the government assured them of forming a taskforce within three days to formulate concession providing system.

Pradeep Poudel, chairman of Nepal Student Union, warned of resuming protest after three days if the government failed to keep its words.

Different students’ organizations affiliated to political parties, even the ruling ones, have been protesting since the government increased the price of the petroleum products nearly a week ago.

Meanwhile, Minister for Commerce and Supplies Lekha Raj Bhatta threatened to resign from the post if the government failed to release Rs. 4.5 billion needed to ensure the smooth supply of the petroleum products.

Speaking at an interaction programme
in the capital, Minister Bhatta said that remaining in the post

would be immoral if the smooth supply of fuel could not be ensured.

He argued that the given amount was essential for the smooth supply of PoL products and criticised the government decision to allocate mere 250 million rupees to the Nepal Oil Corporation as the amount was too insufficient to ensure the smooth supply.

On the occasion, he said that Ministry of Commerce and Supplies (MoCS) would implement the three-phase reform programmes prepared by the MoCS if government provided the required amount.

Under the mid-term scheme, mismanagement in the MoCS will be enhanced and expansion of petroleum deports and extensions of supply lines will be constructed as the part of the long-term scheme, Bhatta informed.

In the programme, he also informed that the government was working very seriously to end ongoing fuel shortage and that it had plans to form a high level market monitoring team to check black-marketing

Meanwhile, more than 1000 private schools of the Kathmandu Valley remained closed on Thursday after Nepal Educational Republican Forum, Kathmandu enforced a closure demanding to reinstate two teachers who were fired by their school.

The schools were closed even though the forum had earlier made its commitment that it would not enforce closure under any circumstance.

Other teacher unions have also committed that they would not undermine the students’ rights to education by closing down schools time and again. But, the forum on Thursday closed all private schools of the valley claiming that they called the strike for their ensuring their professional rights.

The union has called the strike after two teachers, Ramesh Dangal and Bijendra Pradhan of Daffodil Boarding School, Chabhil were fired from job. The union blamed that the firing of the teachers was a symbolic attack on the professional rights of the teachers.

Therefore, the union was forced to call the strike to pressurize the school authority to reinstate the fired teachers.

However, the school claimed that the administration had not expelled the teachers.

The union said that the schools were closed for an indefinite period until the expelled teachers would be reinstated with full respect.

source:risingnepal, 3 feb 2012