Inner Line Permits in India

• IAS NEXT, Lucknow
• 05, Oct 2021

In a bid to reopen the tourism sector, the Arunachal Pradesh government has decided to withdraw suspension on issuing ILP and Protected Area Permit to travellers as the COVID-19 situation in the northeastern State is “under control”.

What is an ILP?

It is a document required by non- natives to visit or stay in a state that is protected under the ILP system.

At present, four Northeastern states are covered, namely, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur and Nagaland. Inner line permit is also mandatory for entering into Lakshadweep.

• Both the duration of stay and the areas allowed to be accessed for any non native are determined by the ILP.
• The ILP is issued by the concerned state government and can be availed both by applying online or in person.

An ILP is only valid for domestic tourists.

Rationale behind:

The Inner Line Permit is an extension of the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation Act 1873.

After the British occupied the Northeast, the colonisers started exploiting the region and its resources for economic benefits.

• They first started tea plantations and oil industries in Brahmaputra Valley.
• The indigenous tribes living in the hill areas would regularly conduct raids into the plains to loot and plunder, marauding the tea gardens, oil rigs and trading posts set up by the British East India Company.
• It was in this context that the BEFR 1873 was promulgated.