The new standards will come into effect from July 15, said Umakant Jha, secretary at the Ministry of Industry. He said the new rule is being enforced mainly to check the sale of substandard cement. [break]
"We have decided to make acquisition of the NS mark mandatory for cement factories. They should place the mark on cement sacks headed for the market," Jha told Republica.
The importers will need to make sure their imports are up to the standards set and comply with rules concerning cement sacks. "The decision has been taken mainly to maintain uniformity of standards in the market," Jha added.
The decision of the ministry has drawn instant criticism from cement producers and importers.
Describing the 15-day deadline for compliance as too short, they argued that the decision will force more than 50 percent of cement factories and traders to stop production and sales. There are around 42 cement factories in the country.
“Only half of them (cement manufacturers) have acquired the NS Mark,” said Pashupati Murarka, vice president of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) and promoter of Argakhachi Cement and Supreme Cement.
“And the timeline set for acquiring certification from the Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology (NBSM) is too short. No company can get the mark within such a short span,” he stated, adding that it will compel around 50 percent of the cement factories to shut operations.
Cement producers even claimed that all the factories in Nepal were producing cement of higher quality than what the NS requires.
Moreover, Murarka said that if the factories are operating without the NS mark it is because the government agency itself was dragging its feet over NS certification. “I have records of cement factories applying for the NS mark since more than two years ago and they have still not been audited and issued the mark,” he stated.
Of the total number of cement factories, 12 are engaged in production of clinker and cement while another 30 carry out production by importing clinker from India and other countries. The domestic demand for cement is around 300,000 tons per year.
The government has tagged cement as one of the industries having potential for high-value addition and has provided facilities such as roads, electricity and water supply to the cement factories. They have also been provided security.
Murarka said the MoI´s latest decision contradicted the government´s own priorities. If the government is to enforce such a rule, MoI should first equip NBSM with the manpower to be able to issue prompt certification to cement companies.
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