Protected Area regime in Aruchal relaxed

FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT

Itagar, January 24: The Union Home Ministry has approved the proposal for relaxation of Protected Area Regime in Aruchal Pradesh. The decision in this regard was taken on Thursday at the initiative of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju, a statement issued by the Ministry said here on Saturday.

The decision was taken with a view to promote the vast tourism potential in Aruchal Pradesh in the form of adventure tourism, diverse cultural heritage, multi faceted fairs and festivals, world famous Buddhist mosteries.

The entire area of Aruchal Pradesh is covered by the Protected Area Regime under the Foreigners (Protected Areas) Order, 1958. No foreigner can enter or stay in the State without obtaining a permit from the competent authorities. Some relaxations were also made in the past in Aruchal Pradesh.

In this regard, the proposal of the State government for opening of additiol tour circuits for the foreign tourists was under consideration with the Centre for quite some time.

It has been decided to allow creation of new tourist circuits mely – Margerita – Jairampur – mpong – Manmao – Pangsau Pass, extension of the existing circuit Margerita – Miao – mdapa to Vijoygar, the statement said.

To simplify the procedure, powers to issue ‘Protected Area Permit’ have been delegated to Deputy Resident Commissioner, Kolkata and Guwahati directly to the foreign tourists, it said, adding, sponsorship requirement of registered tour operators has been waived.

Similarly, powers have been delegated to Resident Commissioner, New Delhi and Deputy Resident Commissioners, Kolkata and Guwahati to issue ‘Protected Area Permit’ to single foreign tourist visiting Tawang, West Kameng and Lower Subansiri districts.

These relaxations are expected to facilitate arrival of foreign tiols and make their stay in Aruchal Pradesh hassle free, the statement added.