Government will loose the tie of restrictions for tourist promotions

The foreigners must obtain a special permission to visit Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and parts of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir among others cause of the restriction remains stable.

“Discussions are on with the state governments to relax the Restricted Area Permit provisions for some areas for foreign tourists,” Union minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju told.

Rijiju said the Ministry of Home Affairs will coordinate with other agencies and the state governments to discover the possible locations for which the Protected Area Permit and the Restricted Area Permit provisions may be relaxed and may consent for the tourists.

Behind the move is to promote tourism, create job opportunities for the locals and generate revenue for the state.Under the Foreigners (Protected Areas) Order, 1958, all areas falling between the Inner line and the International Border of some states have been declared as protected areas so still in rolls among the talks to promote those areas for tourist purposes.

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The protected areas currently include whole of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Sikkim, besides parts of Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, and Jammu and Kashmir. Some parts of Sikkim fall under the protected area regime while others under the restricted area and some other areas have been excluded from the list, which is: Manipur, Mizoram, and Nagaland were excluded from the protected area regime initially for a period of one year from January 1, 2011, subject to some conditions. it’s possible to visit the areas those under the protected or restricted areas but a reason indeed to mention about the visit.

In cases, where the power to issue such permits has not been delegated to a subordinate authority by the Union government, the application for the special permit has to be referred to the Ministry of Home Affairs for prior approval, at least eight weeks before the date of the expected visit.

With an aim to promote tourism, the government, time to time by notification, exempt some of such restricted or protected areas from the need of special permission for foreigners to visit them.

In cases of foreign diplomats, including the members of the United Nations and international organizations holding diplomatic or official passports, the special permits to visit such protected or restricted areas are issued by the Ministry of External Affairs.

In cases of the citizens of Afghanistan, China, and Pakistan and foreign nationals of Pakistani origin, no permit, however, can be issued without the prior approval of the Union home ministry.