KATHMANDU: Owners of hotels and resorts inside Chitwan National Park (CNP) claimed that they had paid the tax to the government on time. Talking to The Himalayan Times, Basanta Mishra, proprietor of Temple Tiger, said most of the hotels and resorts had been paying the tax.

"I don't have any outstanding tax amount," he claimed, "The authorities have been providing false information to the media as their propaganda to defame us."

Mishra's claim comes at a time when the government did not renew the 15 year-long lease contract, claiming that the proprietors of the seven hotels and resorts in the CNP are yet to pay tax amounting to Rs 19.22 million. The Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation has asked the hoteliers to pull their shutters in mid-July.

Mishra, however, maintained that the government had taken wrong decision on the eve of Visit Nepal Year 2011, by closing the hotels and resorts visited by many tourists. "We're talking about tourism promotion. But does closing hotels and resorts will help this?"

Around 1,500 employees had been working in the hotels and resorts in the CNP.

According to the provision, the hotels and resorts have to pay taxes, either in principal or interest, to the government. According to a MoFSC source, one of the resorts in the CNP has not paid any tax yet. According to the source, six hoteliers have paid their principal whereas only three have paid principal and interest.