NEW DELHI – Foreign tourists, except those from Pakistan and China, maysoon be allowed to visit some of the most pristine locations of india, keptout of bound so far for them without a special permit.
The Union home ministry is examining whether to relax the six-decade-oldRestricted Area Permit regime, under which foreigners must obtain a specialpermission to visit Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and parts Himachal Pradesh,Uttarakhand, Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir among others.
“Discussions are on with the state governments to relax the Restricted AreaPermit provisions for some areas for foreign tourists,” Union minister ofstate for home Kiren Rijiju told PTI.
Mr Rijiju said the Ministry of Home Affairs will coordinate with otheragencies and the state governments to identify the possible locations forwhich the Protected Area Permit and the Restricted Area Permit provisionsmay be relaxed.
An MHA official said the citizens from Pakistan and China, however, areunlikely to be given these relaxations.
The move is being initiated to promote tourism, create job opportunitiesfor the locals and generate revenue for the state, he said.
Under the Foreigners (Protected Areas) Order, 1958, all areas fallingbetween the Inner line and the International Border of some states havebeen declared as protected areas.
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 theprotected area regime while others under the restricted area.
As per a December 30, 2010 circular of the MHA, Manipur, Mizoram andNagaland were excluded from the protected area regime initially for aperiod of one year from January 1, 2011, subject to some conditions.
As per the guidelines, a foreign national is not normally allowed to visita protected or restricted area unless the government is satisfied thatthere are extra-ordinary reasons to justify his or her visit.
Every foreigner, except a citizen of Bhutan, who desires to enter and stayin a protected or restricted area, is required to obtain a special permitfrom a competent authority having the power to issue such permits to aforeigner, seeking it.
In cases, where the power to issue such permits has not been delegated to asubordinate authority by the Union government, the application for thespecial permit has to be referred to the Ministry of Home Affairs for priorapproval, at least eight weeks before the date of the expected visit.
With an aim to promote tourism, the government, time to time bynotification, exempts some of such restricted or protected areas from theneed of special permission for foreigners to visit them.
Necessary powers have been delegated to various authorities to issue suchspecial permits without the prior approval of the Union home ministry tofacilitate foreign tourists subject to the certain exceptions.
In cases of foreign diplomats, including the members of the United Nationsand international organisations holding diplomatic or official passports,the special permits to visit such protected or restricted areas are issuedby the Ministry of External Affairs.
In cases of the citizens of Afghanistan, China and Pakistan and foreignnationals of Pakistani origin, no permit, however, can be issued withoutthe prior approval of the Union home ministry.