KATHMANDU: Industry, Commerce and Supplies Minister Gauri Kumari Yadav lost her ministerial post a day after making strong remarks against LPG gas entrepreneurs, saying they needed to be dealt with firmly to resolve the ongoing shortage.
Yadav had faced criticism over the government’s inability to ensure a regular supply of cooking gas, with the shortage continuing across the country for nearly a month. Her remarks against gas entrepreneurs at a parliamentary committee meeting on Wednesday also put Prime Minister Balendra Shah under pressure.
Speaking at a meeting of the Industry and Commerce and Labour and Consumer Interest Committee at Singha Durbar on Wednesday, Yadav said strict action against gas entrepreneurs was necessary to improve the supply situation.
“Gas supply will not become smooth until gas entrepreneurs are dealt with firmly,” she said. She also expressed frustration over her inability to ensure adequate supplies, saying she felt ashamed that consumers were unable to obtain gas despite paying for it.
Yadav questions need for 58 gas companies
Yadav claimed that Nepal has more LPG gas companies than necessary and said the structure of the existing 58 companies should be reconsidered.
She argued that a country like Nepal did not need more than two gas companies and questioned why licenses had been issued to 58 companies.
She also questioned the licensing process, alleging that entrepreneurs had been granted licenses after paying millions of rupees.
Consumers across the country have been forced to wait in long queues for hours due to the shortage. In some areas, people have turned to electric stoves and other alternatives because they have been unable to obtain gas regularly.
Yadav said she felt helpless over the situation and blamed gas entrepreneurs for the supply problems.
“Because of the entrepreneurs, I am sitting here helpless. I have been forced to feel powerless. Gas entrepreneurs have betrayed us in distribution,” she said.
She added that it was embarrassing that consumers could not obtain gas and other essential goods even after making payments.
Yadav argued that the current crisis could have been avoided if gas entrepreneurs had regularly supplied around 3,000 cylinders to Kathmandu.
Proposal for a government-run gas company
Yadav also proposed that the government establish and operate its own gas company.
“We will now establish a gas company. Nepal Oil Corporation must establish one. If we had our own gas company, we could have delivered gas to every household,” she said.
She also complained that she had been unable to carry out her plans because of entrepreneurs and the bureaucracy.
“The country is being run by the bureaucracy. If officials do not allow anything to be done even when there is such a strong government, what could other governments have done?” she questioned.
Yadav said she had tried to work in the interest of the country and its people but had not received adequate cooperation from the bureaucracy.
Gas entrepreneurs complained to Prime Minister Balendra Shah’s secretariat on Wednesday over Yadav’s remarks.
According to the report, the Prime Minister’s Secretariat called the entrepreneurs for discussions and attempted to defuse the situation. However, the entrepreneurs warned that they could halt gas supplies if the minister did not withdraw or correct her remarks.
The Nepal LPG Gas Industry Association also issued a statement on Thursday expressing serious objection to the minister’s comments.
The association described Yadav’s remarks at the parliamentary committee meeting as irresponsible and inappropriate. It said LPG businesses had been providing services for more than five decades and had continued mobilising resources during various disasters.
The association said it was unfortunate that a responsible minister had made what it described as undemocratic, irresponsible, indecent and inappropriate remarks while entrepreneurs were working to maintain gas supplies during a difficult situation.
It argued that blaming another party instead of identifying the actual causes of the shortage would not solve the problem and called for an objective review of the situation.
Association President Krishnabhakta Shrestha said the arrangement to supply half-filled 7.1-kilogram cylinders for 15 days had continued for four months. He said the association had written to Nepal Oil Corporation on March 30, 2026, requesting a return to full cylinders, but the request had not been addressed.
The association cited several factors behind the current shortage, including delays in policy reforms despite repeated requests, insufficient urgency in gas imports, a sudden increase in demand after full cylinders were reinstated, and disruptions to the transportation of gas tankers following the obstruction of the Prithvi Highway.
It said statements portraying gas entrepreneurs as responsible without evidence and suggesting physical action against them were highly objectionable.
Gas shortage worsens ahead of festivals
The shortage has added to public difficulties as major festivals approach. Consumers have been forced to stand in long queues at gas depots and sales centres due to irregular supplies.
At Wednesday’s committee meeting, Yadav had said the government was working to improve supplies ahead of the festive season. She said market monitoring had been intensified to control black marketing and that preparations were underway to sell food items at subsidised prices through the Food Management and Trading Company.
“We have intensified market monitoring to control black marketing. I will continue moving forward effectively,” she had said.
However, as tensions between the government and gas entrepreneurs intensified over the shortage, Yadav resigned from her ministerial post the following day.
Her resignation has raised questions over who will take responsibility for the month-long gas shortage, the growing confrontation between the government and gas entrepreneurs, and weaknesses in supply management.
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