As of now, Department of Commerce (DoC) has been monitoring market from its offices in Kathmandu, Morang, Parsa, Banke and Kailali districts.[break]
The Ministry of Commerce and Supplies has prepared Organization and Management (O&M) report to set up a separate wing - Supply Division -- at the Department of Commerce (DoC) that would undertake the responsibility to manage and monitor the supplies of essential commodities mobilizing the market monitoring officers in all districts.
The DoC will be named Department of Commerce and Supply Management (DoCSM) after the new division is formed.
The government came up with the new structure after realizing that formation of Department of Supplies won´t be economically viable.
“The new structure has been suggested to ensure better management of supplies and effective market monitoring system,” Ganesh Dhakal, joint secretary at MoCS, told Republica on Sunday.
The ministry is in the process of getting go-ahead from the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of General Administration as well as Public Administration Restructuring Commission before forwarding the O&M report to the cabinet for approval.
According to the proposed structure, a joint secretary will be deputed at DoCSM to oversee supplies as deputy director, while three section officers will be posted to work as legal officer, economist and statistician.
As a stop gap measure, MoCS has already taken consent of the Ministry of Home to authorize district administrative officers to monitor supplies in 30 major districts.
Meanwhile, officials of SAARC member countries have agreed to initiate the process of doubling stock of food grains at SAARC Food Bank in respective countries.
They made the commitment during the Fourth Meeting of SAARC Food Bank Board held in Dhaka on Wednesday and Thursday. Members of the eight-nation bloc had agreed to double the stock at the third meeting held in Kabul, Afghanistan last year.
As per the new agreement, Nepal and Sri Lank will have to increase food stock to 8,000 tons each. Similarly, Bangladesh and Pakistan will need to maintain food stock of 80,000 tons each. Bhutan will need to boost stock to 260 tons, Afghanistan to 2,840 tons, Maldives to 400 tons and India to 306,400 tons.
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