SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, MAR 25 -
The government is still undecided about taking action against the casinos that have failed to clear royalty dues, and the Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee on Friday has once again cracked the whip on the government to scrap the licenses of the casinos.
The PAC on Dec 28. 2010 had instructed the government to scrap the licenses of those casinos refusing to clear the royalty dues within 35 days.
The PAC also directed the Ministry of Finance (MoF) to initiate action against those unwilling to pay the dues. The MoF has currently put on hold any transaction of land belonging to Nepal Recreation Centre (NRC) that runs four casinos in the country.
Lawmaker Ajay Chaurasia said that the hotel would be liable for the remaining dues if the property of NRC is not enough to clear the government dues. The committee has also directed the Tourism Ministry to keep it updated on the moves taken to bar Nepali citizens from entering casinos.
Though the PAC has directed the government to cancel the licenses of those casinos that allow entry of Nepali citizens, this directive hasn’t been implemented. Stating that Nepalis are being arrested from casinos, lawmaker Prem Bahadur Singh urged for cancellation of licenses of such casinos. “The PAC directive has been violated,” Singh said adding that the licenses of these casinos should be scrapped immediately.
The parliamentary committee on Dec. 28, 2010 had directed the government to cancel the licenses of all the casinos that fail to clear their dues within 35 days. Only two casinos—Casino Everest and Casino Tara—had cleared their dues when the Department of Revenue Investigation (DRI) formally wrote to the Tourism Ministry for the scrapping of the licenses. The DRI on Feb. 14 had formally requested the tourism ministry to take against the eight casinos that have failed to clear dues within the 35 days given by the PAC.
However, the Tourism Ministry didn’t show any urgency to take action against the eight casinos forwarded by the DRI. In between, four more casinos—Casino Rad, Casino Venus, Casino Grand and Casino Shangri La—cleared their dues and royalties. As yet, Casino Anna, Casino Royale, Casino Nepal and Casino Fulbari haven’t cleared their dues.
Lawmaker Usha Gurung said that the government should not beat all casinos with the same stick. “The case of casinos paying partial dues should be different from those unwilling to pay any amount.”
PAC’s Friday meeting also directed the Tourism Ministry to immediately revoke the license issued to other than five-star hotels. Currently, Casino Anna’s operating license is with Annapurna International, not with Hotel Annapurna. It was given the license when Annapurna International used to operate both Hotel Annapurna and Casino Anna.
The meeting directed the concerned authorities to resolve the workers’ problems if any casino shuts down.
The PAC asked the concerned ministries to inform the committee about the progress on directives issued on Dec. 28, 2010 and Feb. 2, 2011. On Feb 2, the PAC had directed the ministries to start the process of relocating casinos outside Kathmandu Valley. It had also directed the tourism ministry to prepare casino guidelines within 15 days and implement them.
Meanwhile, Casino Anna union leader Krishna Pandey said that the government should not immediately close down the casinos that are employing hundreds of people. According to Pandey, Casino Anna is in the process of getting new management from India that has ensured to clear the government dues and royalty. The new management—Shivam Impex Hotel and Restaurant— is in the process of registering itself at the Company Register Office and pay government dues.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Spring is the season to be merry mountaineering
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, MAR 25 -
The spring mountaineering season (March-May) sees the largest number of mountaineers heading for the Himalaya. During this season, the government collects more than Rs 200 million as mountaineering royalty from expeditions making a bid on Everest alone.
As of the present, 10 expeditions have applied to climb the world’s highest peak, a government official said. The 10 teams contain a total of 109 members.
According to the Tourism Industry Division at the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation that issues expedition permits, the government has so far collected Rs 193 million in royalties from Everest expeditions. The royalty for Everest ranges from US$ 25,000 to US$ 70,000 per expedition depending on the number of members (maximum 15) and the route.
Last year, the government collected Rs. 220 million in mountaineering royalties during the spring season. This climbing season that ended on May 25 saw 347 climbers making it to the top of the world’s highest peak. Among the summiteers, 157 were foreigners and 190 Nepalis.
Government officials are hopeful that the number of prospective climbers will increase this year as the royalty for Dhaulagiri has been halved. Also, as part of a scheme to boost tourism and Nepal Tourism Year, the government has announced that Everest summitters will get free Nepali visas for two years.
According to official statistics, 3,128 climbers have scaled Everest since it was first climbed by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Sherpa in 1953.
The government has opened 326 peaks in the Nepal Himalaya for mountaineering. According to the Tourism Industry Division, it has received the highest number of applications to climb Everest from the US followed by the UK, Japan and Australia.
“We expect to receive more applications as the spring season lasts till May end,” said Indra Kumar Maharjan, an official at the Tourism Ministry. The government provides a 50 percent discount on the mountaineering royalty in the winter and summer seasons and a 75 percent discount in the autumn season.
The royalty for the spring season is higher. No climbing royalty is charged for mountains in the Mid-Western and Far Western development regions.
KATHMANDU, MAR 25 -
The spring mountaineering season (March-May) sees the largest number of mountaineers heading for the Himalaya. During this season, the government collects more than Rs 200 million as mountaineering royalty from expeditions making a bid on Everest alone.
As of the present, 10 expeditions have applied to climb the world’s highest peak, a government official said. The 10 teams contain a total of 109 members.
According to the Tourism Industry Division at the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation that issues expedition permits, the government has so far collected Rs 193 million in royalties from Everest expeditions. The royalty for Everest ranges from US$ 25,000 to US$ 70,000 per expedition depending on the number of members (maximum 15) and the route.
Last year, the government collected Rs. 220 million in mountaineering royalties during the spring season. This climbing season that ended on May 25 saw 347 climbers making it to the top of the world’s highest peak. Among the summiteers, 157 were foreigners and 190 Nepalis.
Government officials are hopeful that the number of prospective climbers will increase this year as the royalty for Dhaulagiri has been halved. Also, as part of a scheme to boost tourism and Nepal Tourism Year, the government has announced that Everest summitters will get free Nepali visas for two years.
According to official statistics, 3,128 climbers have scaled Everest since it was first climbed by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Sherpa in 1953.
The government has opened 326 peaks in the Nepal Himalaya for mountaineering. According to the Tourism Industry Division, it has received the highest number of applications to climb Everest from the US followed by the UK, Japan and Australia.
“We expect to receive more applications as the spring season lasts till May end,” said Indra Kumar Maharjan, an official at the Tourism Ministry. The government provides a 50 percent discount on the mountaineering royalty in the winter and summer seasons and a 75 percent discount in the autumn season.
The royalty for the spring season is higher. No climbing royalty is charged for mountains in the Mid-Western and Far Western development regions.
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