The lease agreement of the hotels had expired a month ago after which the hotel operators were lobbying for renewal of their licenses. [break]
The committee was formed as the cabinet was sharply divided over the issue of renewing the licenses of the CNP hotels. In 2009, then government had renewed the licenses of the hotels for two and a half years for the last time stating that the operation of hotels had an adverse impact on the biodiversity of the park. “I am strongly against renewing the licenses of the hotels,” said Minister for Land Reform and Management Chandra Dev Joshi.
A month ago, the forest ministry had sent a circular to the hotels inside the CNP to move out at the earliest. However, the hoteliers have been lobbying for another lease extension.
According to highly-placed sources, the hoteliers have been exerting pressure on Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai to table the issue in the cabinet. “We had no option other than taking the issue to the cabinet as only the cabinet can overrule its own decision,” said an official at the forest ministry.
The hotel owners have denied involvement in activities detrimental to the biodiversity of the park and poaching of wild animals. “We have not been involved in any activities that would have an adverse impact on the biodiversity of the park and neither do we have involvement in poaching. How can we put our own business at risk?” said general manager of Tiger Tops Hotel Yadav Bantawa.
The committee comprising forest minister, environment minister, tourism minister and finance minister and the forest secretary has been given two weeks to complete the study. “It´s a delicate issue as the hotels have been attracting tourists from across the globe. Shutting down the hotels will send a negative message,” said environment minister Keshav Man Shakya.
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