The government has moved to turn up the scrutiny on fuel sales as a severe and prolonged shortage has led to the rise of a thriving black market.

On Thursday, it formed a five-member committee led by Joint Secretary Jib Raj Koirala of the Ministry of Commerce and Supply, and assigned it to monitor the market and ensure regular supplies. The administration has been criticized for turning a blind eye to the black market in fuel and household essentials. Minister for Commerce and Supply Ganesh Man Pun said that they had received a flurry of complains from customers about anomalies in the market and haphazard distribution.

“Acting on the complaints, the committee has been mandated to track the market inspections being conducted by various regulatory bodies of the government,” he said.

Pun said that the committee would keep records of the oil tankers and cooking gas bullets entering Nepal. “Similarly, it will also check the distribution system along with the quantity of fuel sold in the market,” he added.

The ministry has set up a hotline to receive reports about acts of wrongdoing from the public to which it will respond immediately. People can lodge their complaints by calling telephone number 4200052. The committee will work in coordination with a control room established at the Home Ministry to provide 24-hour service.