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The Nepal Oil Corporation Ltd (NOC), the sole importer and distributor of petroleum products, determines the maximum retail prices of fuels depending on a number of variables, including the price of crude oil in the world market, the cost of transportation, taxes, customs fees, exchange rates, and operational costs. The NOC has now started the Auto Fuel Pricing System and the cost of petroleum products have dropped as a result. Evana Manandhar of ApEx talked to Puskar Karki, deputy director and co-spokesperson of the NOC, to find out how this change will affect us in the long run. Excerpts:

What is the Auto Fuel Pricing System?

The Auto Fuel Pricing System refers to the  process by which the prices of vehicle fuels such as petrol and diesel are decided and regulated based on the tariff it receives from its sole supplier, the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC). It encompasses a variety of issues and stakeholders, including government agencies, oil firms, and market dynamics.

Every 15 days, we receive a new price from IOC, and we base our price on that, including taxes and other fees. The 2.5 percent profit margin has been lowered to two percent and we have kept no profit on LPG. If the IOC fluctuates the price, we will proceed accordingly.

How is it different from the previous system?

According to the previous system, the government, or the NOC had the authority to adjust the price of petroleum products any time. The adjustment of the price need not be in any pattern or ratio. But with the auto pricing system, the price will be adjusted as per the international market price.

Why did NOC introduce this system?

The NOC introduced the auto fuel pricing system to improve the transparency and consistency of petroleum product pricing in Nepal. Prior to the launch of this system, petroleum products’ prices in Nepal were governed directly by the government. It was up to the government if it wanted to charge a higher price or a lower price. But now, the government or the NOC can’t do so. We have to stick to the international market.

The approach improves transparency in fuel pricing by taking into account the numerous cost components and market factors that influence the final price. It explains how fuel prices are computed and offers customers and stakeholders a clear reason for any price change.

The price of petroleum products has now decreased with the launch of the auto pricing system. Will this trend continue? Will this help the public?

Around five months ago, the price of petrol was Rs 199 and it has dropped to Rs 165. The price of diesel has come down to Rs 145. As international prices have fallen, the price of petroleum products in Nepal has also fallen, which is good for us and the public. 

I can’t guarantee that the price will fall down every time as it will be decided by the international market. But this system will definitely help the public. Inflation is largely determined by the price of petroleum products and once it is reduced, other financial pressures will ease too. 

Will the IOC allow us to continue this system for a long time?

The IOC has nothing to do in the matter. Though we buy petroleum products from IOC only, it’s up to us on which platform will build our pricing system in Nepal. So this system will continue as long as the public extends its support. They should now understand that if there is a price hike, it’s not because of the NOC but the global market.

Syangja/Rupandehi: The mention of the word ‘dumping site’ or ‘landfill’ rarely elicits good feelings. No one wants to go near one, much less have a picnic there. But Waling Municipality in Syangja district has turned this general notion about landfill on its head. Yes, the spot where the town dumps its waste is also a picnic park—and a popular one at that. 

The first thing you’ll see as you enter the municipal waste disposal site is the greenery. The area is covered with vegetation, all the grass and trees with paved walkways. There is no whiff of foul smell about. This is explained by the fact that the municipal office only disposes of non-degradable waste here. 

Every individual household in Waling segregate their waste and municipal workers make sure that non-degradable wastes aren’t mixed with the degradable ones when they do their garbage rounds. Failure to segregate means the waste doesn’t get collected, and the concerned household must pay a fine. By simply involving the community in solid waste management, Waling Municipality has managed to keep itself tidy.    

It is also generating revenue through non-degradable waste. From plastic to paper, everything is sold to recycling companies. Once the non-degradable waste is dumped into the site, it’s further separated by the employees.
“Every material has a different price. Among glass bottles, prices differ between the bottles depending on their color. It’s the same for the plastic. Price depends on its quality,” says Dilip Khand, the former mayor of Waling Municipality, who currently manages the solid waste management site.

Annually, the municipality profits around Rs 2.5m to Rs 3m by selling recyclable waste. Multi Layered Plastic (MLP/plastic that’s found on wrappers) doesn’t get sold. But they have found a solution to manage this type of plastic as well. It gets shredded and is used as one of the components for asphalt.

As for the bio-degradable waste, it’s utilized to make vermicompost (biodegradable waste converted into organic manure with the help of earthworms). Waling Product Holding Multipurpose Cooperative is responsible for making and selling vermicompost. Some farming households make their own vermicompost, thus limiting their waste.

Fecal waste from households doesn’t get dumped in the river either. Each household is mandated to have a septic tank. The municipality is responsible for cleaning the tanks, for which each household pays Rs 5,000 per cleaning session. The fecal waste doesn’t go to waste either. It gets separated into solid and liquid forms. While the solid waste is turned into vermicompost, the liquid is turned into drinkable water.

A visitor to Waling will notice how clean the town is, from its neighborhoods to street to river.
“It is the willingness of the locals to keep their surroundings neat that makes Waling so clean,” says Khand.
But this enthusiasm and wisdom didn’t come overnight. At first, some town residents were opposed to the idea of separating their household waste, says Yogmaya Pangeni, coordinator at the Social Development Committee of Waling.
“They fell into line only after the town mayor announced that he would personally visit their homes to pick up and segregate their waste.”  

Besides Waling, the other place that’s doing a great job with waste management is Tilottama Municipality in Rupandehi, Lumbini Province. Like Waling, waste materials are segregated at their source, at the household level. Two garbage trucks are deployed twice a week, once to collect degradable waste and the other to collect non-degradable waste. But the waste is currently collected from only 11 wards (Ward No. 7 to 17) out of the total 17.

While the responsibility of solid waste management in Waling is taken by the municipality, the responsibility of managing waste in Tilottama is undertaken by WASH Cooperative. The non-degradable waste is separated, compressed, and packed for selling the materials to the highest bidder, while the degradable waste is turned into vermicompost.

These models of managing solid waste were initiated by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) as Promoting Green Recovery Project (PGRP/the project has already come to an end) in five different municipalities, among which two of them are Waling and Tilottama. Both the municipalities agree that this couldn’t have been possible without the UNDP’s assistance.

Before initiating the project in Tilottama, Aarju Karki, program officer for PGRP, says that the dumping site was merely a pile of garbage and nothing more. “With the combined effort of WASH Cooperative, Tilottama Municipality, and UNDP, we were able to make this dumping site systematic with added machinery and expertise on waste segregation,” she adds.

The pile of garbage that was dumped before the initiative started is also being segregated separately. “Some contractors take the responsibility of segregating certain areas from the dump and take what they need, while paying a certain amount to the cooperative,” she says. More than half of the waste from the pile has already been managed.

Besides, Tilottama Municipality is actively working on making sure that every household takes the responsibility of segregating their waste. Waste material from a household isn’t collected if not segregated. Also, the locals are encouraged to make their own manure. The municipality has distributed compost bins in every household. Dustbins have also been placed at different stops. The municipality employs two individuals in each ward to make sure no one litters the area.

“The officers are there to make sure that anyone who litter is fined (Rs 500). They also dispose of any non-degradable waste found in the area,” says Shanta Bashyal Bhattarai, one of the consumers in Tilottama.

One of the major forces driving these municipalities into managing and selling waste materials, besides keeping their environment clean, is its financial benefit.

“Solid waste management has become one of our important sources of income,” says Krishna Khand, mayor of Waling Municipality.

Even for Tilottama, their recent monthly revenue was Rs 365,880 from selling scraps. They haven’t yet started making profits, but with the ratio they’re working on, Khem Prasad Gautam, president of WASH Cooperative, says they will be making good profits in the coming years. 

The same initiative could be taken in the Kathmandu Metropolitan City. “The best way to move forward is to have solid waste management sites in each ward, since the waste produced in Kathmandu is more than what we see in Waling,” says Khand, former mayor of Waling Municipality.

It’s an investment that guarantees future returns. “One could do so much with waste materials that’s generated in the Kathmandu Valley,” says Khand. “When I travel around Kathmandu and see the garbage piles, I can’t help but think that it’s money that’s being littered, not waste.”

Paddy is Nepal’s main food crop. Agricultural experts say farmers will get better yields if paddy seedlings are transplanted by mid-July. However, plantation has been completed on only around half of the paddy fields because of factors like a long spell of drought, shortage of fertilizers, and the impact of lumpy skin disease on oxen. 

Plantation had been completed on 65 percent of paddy fields by this time last year.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, paddy transplantation has been affected this year due to the late onset of monsoon in Madhes, Kosi, and Bagmati provinces, and lumpy skin disease in Karnali and Sudurpaschim provinces. About 90 percent of the fields in Madhes province, which is considered the country’s granary, are still barren. 

Paddy transplantation has been completed on 95 percent of paddy fields in Sudurpashchim Province.

Jhapa, the largest paddy producer in the country, has achieved 65 percent progress in paddy transplantation by mid-July. However, paddy transplantation has been completed on 95 percent of paddy fields in Kailali—the second-largest producer. Bajhang, a hilly district of Sudurpashchim Province, has made 100 percent progress in paddy transplantation.

Rabindra Kumar Kushbaha of Belgachhi in Gaushala-8 of Mahottari said paddy fields are barren even in mid-July due to a lack of sufficient rainfall. “Some farmers transplanted paddy by making alternative arrangements, but seedlings are drying up,” he said.

Most of the paddy fields of Dinesh Mahato of Gaushala-11 are barren. Mahato, who cultivated paddy in two and a half bighas last year, hasn't been able to transplant seedlings this year. “Seedlings are drying up in the seedbed,” he added.

According to the Agriculture Knowledge Center, Mahottari, paddy transplantation has been completed on only 15 percent of paddy fields in the district so far. “The situation is not worrying yet, as paddy transplantation here continues till the end of July. We might get adequate rainfall by that time,” Ram Chandra Yadav, chief of the center, said.

About 90 percent of paddy fields in Madhesh Province are still barren, according to the Ministry of Land Reforms, Agriculture, and Cooperatives. Paddy seedlings have been transplanted on only 33,773 hectares out of 354,383 hectares in eight districts of the province.

Banke of Lumbini Province has made only 50 percent progress in paddy transplanting. “Transplantation progress was only 15 percent at the beginning of June. Most of the farmers have already prepared seedlings in the seedbed. Transplantation will gain pace if there is adequate rain,” Shakil Ahmed, chief of Agriculture Knowledge Center, Banke, said.

Transplantation has been completed only on the paddy fields in Rapti Sonari, Baijanath, Duduwa, and Khajura and areas that receive water from the Sikta Irrigation Project. “Paddy had been transplanted in all areas of Banke, except Narainpur, by this time last year. Narainpur has made the least progress in paddy transplantation this year,” Ahmed added.

Baglung in Gandaki Province has reported 65 percent progress in paddy transplantation. According to the Agriculture Knowledge Center, Baglung, transplantation has been done on 3,824 hectares out of the total of 5,883 hectares.

56 percent progress in Koshi 

Koshi Province has achieved 56 percent progress in paddy transplantation till mid-July. According to the Agriculture Development Directorate, Biratnagar, this is seven percent more compared to the same period last year. “Paddy transplantation has been completed on 50 percent of paddy fields in high hilly areas, 47 percent in mid-hills area, and 60 percent in Tarai areas,” Prakash Kumar Danig, chief of the directorate, said.

Dangi said paddy transplantation is progressing smoothly in Koshi Province. “We had achieved 49 percent progress in the same period last year. Paddy can be transplanted in Tarai districts until late August,” he added.

Paddy is cultivated on 340,829 hectares out of 826,646 hectares of arable land in Koshi. Of them, paddy has already been transplanted on 191,000 hectares.

73 percent progress in Karnali 

Plantation is going on at a slow pace in Karnali which would have completed transplantation on 90 percent of fields by mid-July. According to Tilak Pandey, an information officer at the Directorate of Agricultural Development, Surkhet, transplantation has been completed on 73.79 percent of paddy fields so far.

Out of 15,240 hectares of paddy fields in Surkhet, transplantation has been completed on 10,023 hectares, or 65 percent. Progress in paddy transplantation stands at 53 percent in Dailekh, 85 percent in Jajarkot, 83 percent in West Rukum, 90 percent in Salyan, 100 percent in Dolpa, 84 percent in Humla, 97 percent in Jumla, and 84 percent in Kalikot.

66.71 percent progress in Gandaki 

Paddy transplantation has been completed on 66.71 percent of paddy fields in Gandaki by mid-July, compared to 79.45 percent in the same period of the last fiscal year.

According to the Directorate of Agriculture Development, Pokahra, most of the districts in the province depend on monsoon rains for paddy. Only 37 percent of arable land in Gandaki has irrigation facilities.

While paddy transplantation has been completed on 50 percent of paddy fields in Gorkha, progress in transplantation stands at 65 percent in Lamjung, 68 percent in Tanahun, 65 percent in Parbat, 40 percent in Syangja, 65 percent in Baglung, 80 percent in Kaski, and 85 percent in Nawalpur.

Highest progress in Sudurpashchim

Sudurpashchim has achieved 92 percent progress in paddy transplantation—the highest among the seven provinces of the country.

According to Keshav Raj Pandey, information officer of the Directorate of Agricultural Development, Dhangadhi, transplantation has been completed on 95 percent of paddy fields in Kailali—the largest paddy producer in the province.

“Likewise, Kanchanpur has made 91 percent progress in transplantation. Thanks to good monsoon rains, transplantation has been completed even on farms that do not have irrigation facilities,” Pandey added.

Transplantation, however, hasn’t made much progress in eight hilly districts of the province, which depend on monsoon rains. “These districts haven’t received rain for the past three to four days,” Yagya Raj Pandey, director of the directorate, said. “Nevertheless, we are hopeful that transplantation will be completed in the province within a week.”

Paddy is cultivated on 179,000 hectares in nine districts of Sudurpashchim. While Baitadi has reported 98 percent progress in paddy transplantation, progress in other districts stands at 90 percent in Darchula and Dadeldhura, 88 percent in Doti, and 85 percent each in Achham and Bajura.

Samyak [name changed] works at an advertising firm. Not long before organizations had to switch to work-from-home again due to the second wave of COVID-19, his team had been working hard to finalize an ad campaign for a client. However, he and his colleagues realized that it took a lot of work to impress them because they had been quite picky about the designs in the past.

As his team discussed the campaign idea with the client, it was rejected in one go. The client expressed that they had better expectations and suggested more than half a dozen changes. Samyak was discouraged and frustrated, and so was his team. They had to make changes to their work and do so in a short period.

The team started working to incorporate the changes that the client expected. However, they grew more resentful in the days that followed.

The solution

The deadline was closing in on the team, but there seemed to be no real progress in their work. Samyak and his colleagues started sidelining the campaign, focusing more on the client’s shortcomings. They were operating from a self-focused mindset. They saw the client as an obstacle to overcome since they often suggested changes close to project deadlines. It challenged the team on the creative front since they needed more time to brainstorm and execute new ideas.

Soon enough, Samyak realized it wasn’t working out. As an individual keen on looking at situations through the lens of Emotional Intelligence, Samyak thought he could intervene despite his initial slip up and resentment toward the client. He decided to talk to his team members.

As he held space for his colleagues to express what was bothering them, they shared how they considered the rework unnecessary and started blaming the client. “Nothing ever can impress them!” “They always do this!” “So inconsiderate!” “Why can’t they stick to one thing? Why do they always keep making so many changes? Are we supposed to read their minds?” Many judgments found their way to the surface, but Samyak decided to delve deeper. He thought of helping himself and his colleagues transform those judgmental thoughts into helpful insights to overcome the self-focused mindset. Samyak sat down to discuss some key points with his colleagues.

What really happened in the situation?

Rather than remaining stuck in complaining about their client, talking about the problem ceaselessly, and misinterpreting the incident, Samyak redirected the discussion to address what really had happened.

The team agreed that they worked on a campaign on which the client gave them some feedback, and they had five days to make the changes and present their work to the client again.

How did they feel about the situation?

After helping his team members separate their judgments, interpretations, and complaints from what had happened, he also asked everyone to reflect on their feelings.

He and his colleagues shared how they were discouraged, frustrated, and angry. A little while later, a team member shared, “The client is inconsiderate. Of course, we would feel angry!”

What were they needing?

Samyak was cautious that his team members might blame their feelings on the client because that’s what we usually think. We hold other people entirely responsible for how we feel.

Samyak was aware of the Emotional Intelligence principle that other people’s words or actions can only trigger feelings in us, but they aren’t responsible for how we feel. He helped his team members understand that their feelings of discouragement, frustration, and anger were, to some extent, triggered by the client, but the actual cause of those feelings was their needs. We feel pleasant emotions when our needs are met and unpleasant emotions when our needs are unmet.

Once Samyak helped his colleagues understand this principle, they eventually identified that their frustrations, discouragement, and anger came from unmet needs for consideration, respect, creativity, understanding, and client support.

What concrete actions and agreements would be helpful?

To meet their needs better in the days to come, the team identified the following actions: Asking for the required time to incorporate change requests made close to the project deadline; discussing with the client about the urgent project changes if extending the project deadline isn’t possible. It would help them in giving priority to what’s necessary; setting realistic and mutually feasible project deadlines in the future; working in multiple iterations with the client so that there’s enough time to make changes if/when required; d) Understanding the client’s needs rather than blaming them for being inconsiderate, self-serving, etc.

The result

This incident is an insightful example of how we start operating from a self-focused mindset when we remain stuck in complaining, blaming, and seeing people as objects.

The next day, Samyak and his team had a brief discussion with the client regarding the challenges they were facing and the concrete actions they could take to make working with each other more fruitful. As a result of the emotionally intelligent solution that Samyak sought, his team could communicate clearly with the client, this time with an impact-focused mindset.

They could even transform some of the client’s judgments into the underlying needs that they might have had. For instance, when the client said, “We can’t just waste so much time only discussing what we need to do,” what Samyak and his team heard was “We need efficiency. It helped them mutually decide how they would like to hold their future meetings to spend more time working on the campaign than discussing what to do. Similarly, when the client remarked, “We expected you to show us better work,” Samyak sensed what the client was trying to say—We need your support and expertise to help our end users to understand our brand clearly. As a result, Samyak and his team became more curious to understand what the client was expecting and how they could add value to those expectations through their work.

Operating from an impact-focused mindset helped Samyak’s team to cooperate with the client back and forth. His team and the client better understood each other’s feelings, needs, and expectations. They also created some mutual agreements, making it easier for them to work together.

When we operate with a self-focused mindset, we sometimes hear judgments and criticisms (even if that is not the other person’s intention). An impact-focused mindset helps us in two key aspects. It helps us identify ways to cooperate and invite cooperation from others by helping us hear the unmet needs behind any (of their) judgment. It helps us understand what individuals need from us.

Working with people certainly comes with challenges because each of us has different needs and expectations. With a self-focused mindset, we make working together more challenging because we see each other as objects. We don’t consider that they also have feelings, needs, challenges, and expectations. On the contrary, we can ease the challenge of working together with an impact-focused mindset, which helps us see that other people are people too.

Questions for reflection

If you’re having judgmental thoughts toward someone in a situation, ask yourself what has really happened and how you are feeling? Which needs are those feelings coming from? What concrete actions/agreements would be helpful?

What will happen if you continue to operate from a self-focused mindset?

The author is the Linchpin at My Emotions Matter, an education initiative that helps individuals and teams learn the mindset and skills of Emotional Intelligence. You can learn more at myemotionsmatter.com