ILP goes paperless in Aruchal

FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT

ITAGAR, July 1: Aruchal Pradesh has launched the e-Inner Line Permit (e-ILP) programme as a digital step for hassle-free entry for domestic visitors to the frontier state. Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Friday click-opened the www.aruchalilp.com, a web portal, that ebles visitors to apply and obtain the mandatory ILP online from anywhere in the country.

Conceptualised by State Council for IT and e-Governce and developed by Bohniman Systems Pvt Ltd for the department of Information Technology, the user-friendly system is feature-rich and allows online submission of required documents, photograph and payment by a visitor or group of visitors. The system is mobile-responsible and hence the ILP now issued will be paperless, an official report informed here on Sunday.

Congratulating the department for the ‘historic’ initiative, Khandu was optimistic that the hassle-free and paperless system would lead to a significant increase in number of visitors to the state as people can now obtain ILPs from their homes.

He, however, emphasised on providing training to the personnel at desigted offices of resident commissioners, deputy resident commissioners and deputy commissioners so that they become familiar with the system and can issue ILPs without creating any confusions to the applicants. He also said that verification of documents submitted must be thorough and the system is error-free so that it is not misused or manipulated.

As the issued ILP will now have bar and QR codes for verification, Khandu said the security personnel manning the entry gates would have to be properly trained and equipped so that entries with fake ILPs are checked and genuine ILP holders doesn’t face any sort of inconvenience. For this he requested the department to hold an exclusively training session for the police.

The chief minister was told that the present system is designed to cater only to domestic visitors but the department is working on offering a similar platform to foreign visitors, too.

IT Special Secretary Prince Dhawan explained that after fulfilling all criteria online, visitors will receive the ILP with unique identity number and codes in soft copy in their emails, which can be displayed on their mobile handsets or tabs at the entry gates.

However, visitors have been given the option to avail ILPs at entry gates and other desigted places (such as Guwahati airport) physically on payment of fees, the report added.