The government was widely criticized in 1994 when all resorts inside the park got their leases extended by 15 years, and thus, park officials believe that the leases will not be extended this time. The resorts were and have been blamed for destroying the bio-diversity inside the park, which is a world-famous conservation site that´s listed in the UNESCO´s natural heritage list.
“It is highly possible that with the termination of the lease contracts, all hotels operating inside the park will be closed from July 15,” said Dr Narendra Man Babu Pradhan, chief warden of CNP. “Cases have been filed against the hotels, at the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA). Since these cases will not get finalized immediately, we may have to shut down the hotels immediately after the contract period expires.”
It´s not just environmental issues that are dogging the hotels. In the cases that have been filed against the hotels, the hotels have been charged with intentionally delaying the payment of their lease amounts and royalties to the CNP.
A committee led by the joint secretary of the Ministry of Forest, and comprising officials from Nepal Tourism Board and the Department of National Park and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC), has been formed to report to the ministry the details outlining whether the lease period for operating resorts should be extended or not.
“We have asked the committee to phase out the hotels, giving the hotel-owners a maximum period of 18 months for relocating from the park,” said Hari Bhakta Ghimire, president of the Regional Hotel Association of Sauraha. Seven big resorts--Tiger Tops Jungle Lodge (the first resort built in Nepal), Machan Wildlife Camp, Chitwan Jungle Lodge, Gaida Wildlife Camp, Island Jungle Resort, Hotel Narayani Safari and Temple Tiger--will have to vacate the existing camp sites after one month if the government doesn´t extend their leases.
However, an official at the DNPWC said some senior officials are secretly lobbying for not only extending the terms of the existing contracts but for also granting licenses for new resorts inside the park. It´s easy to see why the resorts would like to continue business inside the park. The resorts enjoy exclusive benefits: they get to operate inside the park such services as elephant-rides using their own elephants, jungle drives and jungle walks. In return for using the park, the hotels pay to the government about nine million rupees every year for the land they have taken on lease, and they also pay a conservation tax.
Related story
The wildlife lesson
