सिंहदरबार संवाददाता
Kathmandu. A question-and-answer session was held between Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Damodar Bhandari and Nepal Communist Party (Maoist Center) MP Gopi Bahadur Sarki Achhami in the National Assembly, held to discuss the price hike of construction materials and food items, including cement.
While answering the questions raised by the MPs in the meeting, Minister for Industry Bhandari said that load shedding in the industry also played a role in the price hike of cement, when Maoist MP Achhami protested in the middle and requested a debate with the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation on the matter.
MP Achhami said, “Honorable Minister, this debate is not to be held here, it is to be held in the Ministry of Energy, it is not to be held here with us.” Minister Bhandari said that the fact of whether there is load shedding in the industry should also be looked at. ‘Now you say there is no load shedding, the Electricity Authority has given a ‘schedule’, I have been requesting the Authority to call it, I have been requesting the committee chairman’, suggesting to look at the schedule of load shedding, he said, ‘Let’s look at the schedule of how much load shedding occurred during this price increase, should we keep saying that some people are saying that there is load shedding and some are not?’
MP Achhami said, ‘That is not our concern, you should take it up with the ministry itself’. Minister Bhandari mentioned that since the Electricity Authority is a government body, there should be a discussion. MP Achhami said, “Our only point is that inflation should be controlled, and the attention of the Ministry of Industry should be focused on it.”
NCP (Unified Socialist) MP Rajendra Lakshmi Gaire asked whether MPs had a role in increasing prices. When the Minister of Industry replied, “No,” MP Gaire proposed, “If not, then let’s discuss it where it belongs.”
After the question-and-answer session between the Minister and the MP, Committee Chairman Sonam Geljen Sherpa “intervened” and proposed, “Let’s keep it as it is.” Stating that there was a shortage of time, Chairman Sherpa instructed the Minister to present a focused opinion on the subject. Minister Bhandari said that the committee’s directive was acceptable to the government. ‘I repeat, I will follow whatever the committee directs,’ he said. ‘The Electricity Authority is not a body outside the government, it is a government body.’
At the same time, another MP from the Unified Socialist Party, Uday Bahadur Bohara, said that the ‘cost of product’ should be clearly stated in the price increase of cement and other construction materials. Informing that a committee has been formed to determine the price of cement, Minister Bhandari said, ‘The committee will come up with what has increased.’
While the Industry Minister was clarifying the possible factors behind the price increase, MP Achhami asked again, ‘Did it come up that MPs should also support the price increase? We don’t do that, is it justified that the price has increased in such a short period of time?’
Minister Bhandari, mentioning that he was speaking with the permission of the Speaker, said, ‘Honorable, please instruct the government on this issue.’ MP Achhami said, ‘It is not right to cheat consumers,’ he said.
In response, Minister Bhandari repeated his statement and said, ‘The committee should instruct the government, the price increase has decreased, efforts are being made to reduce it, the necessary committee has been formed in this regard, whatever conclusion the committee comes up with, we should accept it.’ Minister Bhandari clarified that he did not tell the MP to increase the price. After the question and answer session continued, Chairman Sherpa again ‘intervened’ and drew the attention of the minister to enter the subject.
After the chairman’s instruction, Minister Bhandari claimed that load shedding was also one of the reasons for the price increase. ‘How did load shedding happen? The flood and landslide damaged the Upper Tamakoshi Project, its production decreased, this has been accepted by the NEA, but he said, ‘I said that the price of cement has increased because of this, not because industrialists and businessmen increased it arbitrarily.’
However, he said that the government is committed to protecting the industry, controlling price increases, and providing relief to consumers, and that he is in favor of clear instructions from the committee in this regard. Reiterating the government’s position, Minister Bhandari said, “The state’s responsibility is to protect the industry and provide relief to consumers.”
Committee Chairman Sherpa informed that the report of the study committee and the issue of load shedding in the industry will be discussed with the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation. He said that a conclusion will be reached only after extensive discussions in this regard.
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