NMA granted five year extension to manage 27 peaks

KATHMANDU, Jan 05:The government has extended the Nepal Mountaineering Association's (NMA) permission to collect royalties from 27 peaks for another five years.

The Council of Ministers decided to extend the arrangement with the NMA, which has long had the authority to collect a royalty, for another five years.

The NMA actively promotes and manages a number of summits, including Chulu East (6,584 m), Hiunchuli (6,434 m), Mera Peak (6,470 m), and Lobuche (6,090 m). The NMA is in charge of collecting royalties as well as publicizing these peaks.

The NMA, which has been collecting royalties since 2034, is now collecting payments for 27 peak. The right of royalty was transferred to the local level with the adoption of the new constitution, but the NMA has maintained the right by a court ruling.

The government has renewed the NMA's right to collect royalties every five years. The NMA has permitted the ascent of 27 peaks ranging in elevation from 5,800 to 6,854 meters.

The government wanted to take away the NMA's royalty rights after 2072, but the court ordered the NMA to continue. Since then, NMA has had uninterrupted access to this facility.

The Auditor General Nepal has raised concerns that there is an anomaly in entrusting the collection of royalties to the non-governmental organization NMA, which is registered with the District Administration Office in Kathmandu.

Local, state, and federal governments all share royalty rights. The federal government has made unilateral decisions about this constitutionally protected right.