On 29th June, Minister of State (MoS) for home Kiren Rijiju said that India may relax rules in the restrictive areas of Arunachal Pradesh, Leh and Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir in order to promote tourism in these regions without compromising security.
He made this statement in 6th Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, where he was leading an Indian delegation.
In order to promote tourism in these areas the People Area Permit (PAP) and Restricted
Area Permit (RAP) from certain pockets of Arunachal Pradesh, Leh and Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir will be relaxed.
While speaking about relaxing rules in restricted area Kiren Rijiju mentioned following
- If these regions are restricted and made inaccessible to tourists it would never develop.
- Central Government is not going to lift all restrictions, but would like to open these areas to domestic and foreign tourists with less restriction and develop infrastructure in the bordering areas to make it easily accessible to all visitor.
- The northeast can be a hub of tourism, culture and trade, he said adding that it was also.
The Foreigners (Protected Areas) Order 1958 states that a Protected Area Permit (PAP) is required for non-Indian citizens to visit certain areas in India (mainly in the North-East).
Certain requirements have to be fulfilled in order to get this permit.
Indian citizens who are not resident in these areas need an Inner Line Permit (ILP) to enter these places. The Inner Line Permit is significantly easier to get compared to the PAP.
One of the intended purposes of this policy was to protect the culture of the native people living there.
General Protected Area Permit (PAP) requirements
- Tourists have to travel in groups of at least 4
- They have to travel with a registered travel agent
- In some areas only certain entry/exit points are allowed. In certain areas non-Indians cannot enter at all
- Citizens of Pakistan, Bangladesh, China and Myanmar can get the PAP only with approval of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Normally the PAP has duration of 10 days, with the option of extending for another 7 days.
The PAP is issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
However, the different authorities of the concerned Indian provinces can also issue the PAP, and also the Indian missions abroad. Normally the travel agent will take care of getting the PAP for the tourists.
Areas for which a PAP is required
- All of Nagaland.
- All of Sikkim.
- Parts of Arunachal Pradesh.
- Parts of Manipur.
- Parts of Jammu and Kashmir.
- Parts of Uttaranchal.
- Parts of Himachal Pradesh.
- Parts of Rajasthan.
Areas for which the PAP requirement was lifted
- Assam.
- Meghalaya.
- Tripura.
- Manipur.
What is Restricted Area Permit (RAP)?
The Foreigners (Restricted Areas) Order 1968 states that a Restricted Area Permit (RAP) is required for non-Indians to visit certain areas in India.
One of the intended purposes of this policy was to protect the culture of the native people living there.
As of 2009, RAP is required for all visits to the Union Territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and parts of the state of Sikkim.
Unlike PAP, RAP is generally available for individual travellers and can be issued by overseas embassies or even, in some cases such as Port Blair's Vir Savarkar Airport, on the spot.
Indian citizens do not need special permission to visit Restricted Areas.
Areas for which a RAP is required
- All of Andaman and Nicobar.
- Parts of Sikkim.
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