However, it has now drawn the attention of conservationists, policymakers, lawmakers and the media after the lease contracts of those seven resorts expired on July 15 followed by dispute between Forest Minister Deepak Bohara and then Forest Secretary Uday Raj Sharma. Bohara is bent on extending the lease contracts without biding, the idea which Sharma strongly opposed. Sharma stands firm on the idea of not extending the lease without open competition.
The resort owners are trying to use the influence of not only the forest minster and the tourism minister but also the prime minister’s to continue their grip in the world natural heritage site as if CNP is their own family property. Recent events showed how influential the resort owners are; they can even use ministers to fulfill their interests at the cost of conservation.
They want to use the existing resort sites not for decades but for generations claiming that they have already invested huge amounts in the resorts. Interestingly, they are intentionally ignoring the fact that the contract agreement was signed for a certain period (20 years Tiger Tops; 15 years others), meaning that they have to leave the park after the completion of the contract period.
There is no relation between their investment and extension of their lease contracts as existing rules and regulation envision the automatic removal or closure of existing resorts once the contract period expires.
On the other hand, some of the resorts had made unauthorized structures inside the park violating the lease contracts.
Resort owners are always against competition as they were awarded contract in the past by the royal family members and other aristocrats who always considered National Parks as their personal property.
There is no answer with them as to why they are shying away from participating in bidding for lease contract. They are putting forward baseless logic that they had invested huge amounts of money in the park and should be given the park sites forever. Is the national park their family property?
They are brainwashing the ministers and the prime minister making claims that in the absence of park resorts, jungle safari will collapse. Their claims are completely baseless because sizable tourists are still coming and will continue to come to Chitwan without those resorts. One has to understand that tourists come to Chitwan for visiting the National Park, not for staying at the resorts inside it. Tourists can enjoy jungle safari in the National Park even by staying at hotels outside the park.
The resorts owners are also claiming that the resorts inside are playing a significant role to control poaching inside the park. Ironically, the fact is that 58 rhinos had died – most of them were killed by poachers – in a single year in the past. Weren’t the resorts there at that time? What is more interesting is that most of the poaching incidents were recorded near the resorts. It has been widely blamed that poachers take shelter inside the resorts to design their poaching strategy.
None can deny that the resorts are giving employment opportunities to over one thousand individuals as resorts owners are claiming. However, the fact is that employment opportunities will not be affected even if those resorts are relocated outside the park as other hotels operating outside it are also providing employment.
They also claim that they contribute a sizable amount to the national coffer through royalties and conservation fee. Yes, they were paying about Rs 40 million in revenue annually but at the cost of huge environmental threats. Worse, they are still willfully defaulting Rs 19 million. How can we expect real revenue contribution from the resorts that are not willing to pay revenue on time?
Government officials are responsible for the present dispute on the fate of the seven resorts. Despite the fact that awarding lease contract to operate resorts inside the park without following the bid process is against the existing National Park and Wildlife Conservation Act 1972 and related regulation, then officials of the Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation had given lease contract to those resorts owners following pressure from power centers, ignoring professional ethics. As per the Act and regulation, permission to operate lodge and hotels inside the park will be given through open competition under certain conditions. Then Forest and Soil Conservation Minister Bir Mani Dhakal and Secretary Deependra Purus Dhakal are the main characters who should be blamed for the existing lawlessness in CNP.
I firmly believe that conservation should take precedence over tourism. In fact, tourism in Nepal cannot flourish without conservation of natural resources. The best option is to completely remove the existing resorts from the park and allow them to build alternative structures outside it.
The government should call for an open tender from interested bidders to allow setting up only tented camps inside the park, not permanent structures. It goes without saying that extending the existing lease without open competition would be sheer violation of the existing law.
prabhakar@myrepublica.com
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