Kathmandu, June 20
Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies, Dilendra Prasad Badu, has said that the government had no choice but to increase the prices of fuel.
Answering to questions posed to him by the members of the House of Representatives on Monday, Badu said that the government had to approve the price hike as the prices of fuel had increased in the international market.
He said that since Nepal does not produce petroleum products, the country has to buy it at an expensive rate from the international market.
“We have to pay what they demand,” he said. “Nepal Oil Corporation faces a loss of Rs 9.63 billion every month. On top of that, the country has to pay India Rs 22 billion for fuel this month. We honestly had no choice but to increase the prices of fuel.”
He said that the government even waived Rs 10 from the infrastructure tax imposed on fuel but it could not decrease it further.
