Chitwan Hotels to run until 2012

The Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has decided today to let the hotels, lodges and resorts inside Chitwan National Park (CNP) to run until 2012 keeping in mind the upcoming Nepal Tourism Year 2011. The Committee today decided to allow all seven hotels, lodges and resorts to resume their business inside the CNP until mid July, 2012. The ban on tourism activities of these hotels and lodges which had ceased their operations after their 15-year contract to operate inside the park that expired on July 15 has also been lifted up for until July 2012.

The decision was made after about 15 organizations associated with the tourism industry appealed to the government to let them operate the business until the Tourism Promotion Year 2011. As the decision is made, hotels, lodges and resorts—Island Jungle Resort, Temple Tigers, Tiger Tops, Safari Narayani, Chitwan Jungle Lodge Pvt Ltd, Machan Wildlife Resort and Gaida Wildlife Camp are going to get new life, however, they owe an accumulated amount of around Rs 35 million to the government in terms of conservation fee, fine for not paying the conservation fee, revenues and Value Added Tax.  The CNP office had notified that their operations and business activities ought to be closed down from July 15 in case their indenture was not renewed.

The Chitwan National Park, one the World Heritage Sites of Nepal is home to nearly extinct wildlife such as one-horned rhino and Royal Bengal Tiger. It is popular as one of the best tourism destinations in Nepal and ranks itself after Everest and Annapurna trekking regions.

The PAC constituting a seven-member sub-committee, headed by Maoist CA member Narayan Prasad Dahal was supposed to come up with a solution within 15 days on August 9.  Two major fractions of views were shoring up in debates since long about renewing facilities to operate these hotels and resorts. Local communities, local representatives of major political parties, officials of Buffer Zone Council and environmentalists had been calling for the closure of their activities inside the CNP arguing that the facilities given by CNP to these resorts and hotels are creating threats to the wildlife environment. They even accused that poaching of one-horned rhinos and Royal Bengal tigers was uncontrolled due to their presence inside the CNP. While there are some groups who argue that if the facilities and activities of these hotels and resorts are closed the poaching of wild animals will be unchecked and rampant.
However, the PAC has imposed some strict conditions for the given opportunity to operate again inside the CNP:

1. The hotels, lodges and resorts are made mandatory to clear the dues to the government within a month. The PAC has also advised the government to add more taxes in terms of royalty, VAT and conservation fee.
2. They will not be allowed to take elephants safaris, jeep safari in and around the CNP before dawn and after dusk. Even the provision was same in the past also, it was not strictly obeyed.
3. These hotels, lodges and resorts are required to provide facilities to the employees in accordance with the labor laws even after December 2011, a sub-committee report submitted to the PAC.
4. The facilities will have to enhance development activities benefiting the local communities.
   The committee has also prohibited the hotels, lodges and resorts from displaying the contraband wildlife items. It directed the CNP authorities to reduce the existing disparities in park entry fee of elephants run by hotels outside the park and the others located inside it.
5. The parliamentary body also directed the Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation and its concerned department to conduct an Environment Impact Assessment study within a year.

Of course, if the hotels, lodges and resorts operate their activities according to the made agreements and rules, they are going to aid a great deal in government’s finance.