Finance Minister again tells NOC not to distribute bonus

Kathmandu March 2- Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel has once again directed state-owned Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) not to distribute bonus to its staff citing its entire focus at the moment should be on normalising fuel supply situation.The finance minister met with NOC Acting Deputy Managing Director Sushil Bhattarai and two other senior officials, including Mukunda Ghimire, and told them not to pursue the bonus issue at the moment on Monday.

During the meeting, the minister told NOC officials to end fuel crisis by increasing supply instead of focusing on bonus issue. The minister also said he was willing to use diplomatic channels to end the crisis, if that was needed. The meeting was held at a time when NOC staffers have moved the apex court to lay claim on bonus that could be distributed from the profit made in the last fiscal year.

This is the second time Finance Minister Paudel had directed NOC not to distribute the bonus amount.