A cabinet meeting held two weeks ago decided to waive Chapman´s royalty fee following a request in writing from the US Embassy in Kathmandu to the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTA).[break]
According to Dorendra Niroula at Trekking and Mountaineering Section of the MoTCA, a 13-member Everest Expedition team comprising Chapman has already left Kathmandu for the world´s highest peak.
Officials at MoTCA said this is the first time the royalty fee of a foreigner aspiring to scale Mount Everest has been waived.
As per the Mountaineering Regulations, the cabinet can take decision to waive royalty to scale Mt. Everest in case of Nepali nationals. However, the regulation is silent about the provision in case of foreigners.
Sources said the Ministry of Finance had first objected to a MoTCA´s proposal to waive Chapman´s fee. The ministry finally gave its nod due to pressure from some cabinet members.
Officials at the MoCTA said the cabinet´s decision has prompted other diplomatic missions based in Kathmandu to ask for similar waivers. “There was not even single case where royalty of a foreigner wishing to scale the Mount Everest was waived,” said a ministry official, asking to be unnamed. “This has set a wrong precedent.”
Swiss Embassy officials in Kathmandu had approached MoTCA officials requesting similar exemption for two Swiss nationals shortly after the cabinet decision to waive Chapman´s royalty. “It is likely that more foreigners will seek similar exemption,” added the official.
Royalty fee collected from those aspiring to climb the Mount Everest constitutes one of the major sources of foreign currency earning. Nepal earns over Rs 400 million a year as royalty fee from those aspiring scale the Mount Everest and other mountains at an altitude of over 8,000-meter.
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