Fair price shops for major festivals from Oct first week

Kathmandu / September 23:  The government has planned to set up fair price shops with a view to provide basic goods at discounted prices during the approaching festival season.

The stores are scheduled to open in the first week of October. Fair price shops have been opened annually for the past two decades for the convenience of the public. The Ministry of Commerce and Supply (MoCS) has asked state-owned enterprises, which are assigned to operate the fair price shops, to submit their plans for the coming season. These public enterprises have not been very enthusiastic about opening fair price shops as the government has delayed reimbursing them for the losses they suffered due to the lowered prices.

Those operating fair prices shops during the festive season over the last few years have been complaining that the government still owes them money. Shiva Prasad Tripathi, under-secretary at the MoCS, said a multilateral meeting held on Thursday decided to run fair price shops for the festivals. “We have asked the public enterprises to submit their plans detailing the maximum discount they can offer on their goods,” said Tripathi, adding that the meeting had also decided to request the Finance Ministry to clear the unpaid dues of the state-owned companies.

The fair price shops are opened before the festive season when a series of major celebrations such as Dashain, Tihar and Chhath occur. Last year, such shops were set up in eight locations in the Kathmandu Valley and 63 locations elsewhere in the country.

The MoCS, in coordination with four state-owned enterprises, namely Salt Trading, National Trading, Nepal Food Corporation (NFC) and Dairy Development Corporation, operates the fair price shops. Among them, Salt Trading, National Trading and Nepal Food Corporation are yet to receive a combined Rs120 million as reimbursement from the government.

Shambhu Koirala, director general of the Department of Commerce and Supply Management, said the fair price shops would possibly open 10 days before Ghatasthapana which falls on October 13. “Besides providing relief to the general people, we are putting in place a mechanism to prevent possible misuse of the shops by unscrupulous merchants.”

NFC said it could set up six to eight such outlets in the valley. The company hinted that it might offer a discount of up to Rs5 per kg on food products. NFC Spokesperson Shreemani Raj Khanal said they were yet to finalise the discount to be provided. “The discount will also depend on how of our unpaid dues the Finance Ministry clears.”

Salt Trading said it was also waiting for the Finance Ministry’s move to reimburse it for the losses incurred by providing goods to the fair price shops in previous years.

“Even if the Finance Ministry does not pay the money owed to us, we will still be offering subsidies through the fair price shops as directed by the MoCS,” said Saroj Nidhi Tiwari, senior officer at Salt Trading.

According to Salt Trading, the government owes it more than Rs70 million while NFC says it is yet to receive Rs36.4 million. Similarly, National Trading is yet to receive more than Rs13 million, out of which Rs3 million was lost due to selling subsidised sugar in 2011-12.
(News Source: The Kathmandu Post Daily)