PAC panel to offer three options to jungle resorts
PRABHAKAR GHIMIRE
KATHMANDU, Sept 7: A high-level parliamentary panel formed to make recommendations on the fate of seven resorts operating inside the Chitwan National Park (CNP) has tentatively finalized three options, including not to allow them operate inside the CNP for more than two years, to settle the ongoing row between the CNP and the resorts.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the legislature-parliament had formed the panel after lawmakers strongly objected to the practice of granting lease contract to operate jungle resorts inside the CNP - a UNESCO World Heritage site - without inviting tender. The lawmakers had also demanded immediate relocation of the resorts.
Narayan Dahal, coordinator of the panel, said the resorts, as the first option, would be given permission to bring their guests inside the CNP for the next seven years, if they agreed to move outside the park within six months. "If they agree to move outside the park within a year, they would be permitted to bring their guests inside the park for the next five year," Dahal said. "Under the third option, the resorts would be allowed to operate inside the park for a maximum period of two years if they are not ready to shift outside the park within a year. But they will have to abide by special conditions on revenue and corporate social responsibilities among other."
Dahal said all the members of the panel had principally agreed to recommend the PAC to shift the resorts from the CNP. "We will formally decide on the recommendations before presenting it to the PAC," another member of the panel told myrepublica.com on Monday.
The PAC had constituted the high-level panel on August 9 amid deepening dispute over the extension of lease contract of the seven resorts. The panel has been assigned with the responsibility of recommending measures to decide on the fate of the resorts.
The CNP had ordered the management of Tiger Tops Jungle Lodge, Machan Wildlife Camp, Chitwan Jungle Lodge, Gaida Wildlife Camp, Island Jungle Resort, Hotel Narayani Safari and Temple Tiger Camp to close their operation on July 15, after their lease contracts expired.
The committee members had held interactions with concerned stakeholders -- local residents near the park, hoteliers operating outside the park, operators of the seven resorts, resort workers and local business entrepreneurs -- during their week-long field visit to Chitwan.
The PAC decided to investigate on the issue after a row surfaced between Minister for Forest and Soil Conservation Deepak Bohara and secretary Uday Raj Sharma about the extension of lease contracts. While Bohara was bent on extending the lease contracts, Sharma had strongly opposed the idea, claiming that the extension of contract without inviting tender was against the National Park and Wildlife Conservation Act 1972, its regulation of 1973 and Buffer Zone Act 1998.
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PAC Panel To Offer Three Options To Jungle Resorts
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