A cumbersome and harassing practice of asking the Indian tourists and labourers to obtain Inner Line Permits from the District Magistrate of Leh on their arrival has been quashed by the orders of the District Magistrate. This will bring cheer to all Indian tourists, visitors and labourers as it spares them the hassles of running from pillar to post to obtain the permit and then only could they move around in the region. Way back in 1978 the Government ordered that all Indians visiting Ladakh and all outside labourers desiring to work on the constructional projects in Ladakh needed to obtain a permit from the District Magistrate called Inner Line Permit if they wanted to visit places outside Leh and out of specified areas. It is not clear why the Government had taken that step. May be there were constraints and the Government had to act accordingly. That part does not warrant raking up any controversy because the order has been revoked.
Ladakh is an integral part of the Union of India. But, of course, it is contiguous with the Chinese territory in the region and there is a long border between the two countries in Ladakh region. The road from Ladakh to Tibet also runs in this region though that is no more in use now. The condition of obtaining an Inner Line Permit was imposed on foreign tourist also. It could be that some foreign tourists in collaboration with Indian stakeholders, indulged in some activities that were not considered desirable by the authorities and hence the imposition of the condition of obtaining permit was introduced. We appreciate the decision of the District Magistrate of lifting the ban. Now, any ordinary identity card will serve the purpose of the permit in question. The order comes into effect from May 1, 2014. However, the District Magistrate has notified the routes in the entire region where no permits are required and where the visitors or the labourers will be asked to produce an identity card which could be a passport, Pan Card, driving license or residential address card or Adhar card.
This was a much need step in more than one way. First of all, the issuance of Inner Line Permit had become a big source of corruption because agents and operatives would manage obtaining permits from the authorities for their clients and they charged exorbitantly from them. This had become a practice with many vending agencies that were operating clandestinely and making easy money. Secondly, it was a great hindrance to the tourists in conducting their tours. They had to wait and spend time unnecessarily at one place till they got the permit which could take time. If it was a Sunday or a holiday, the visitors had to cool their heels at their hotels and motels till they were able to obtain their permits. More importantly, the system was a great roadblock to the development of the region. There is paucity of local labour and labourers used to come from other parts of the country as they worked with constructional companies who have projects to complete in Leh region. Lot of time was consumed in obtaining the permits and the entire developmental work suffered. The Inner Line Permit had also created unnecessary confusion and doubts in the hearts of many Indian visitors. They asked why a citizen of India should be asked to obtain a permit for visiting a certain area even if it was located on the border with another country.
Advantages of withdrawal of permit order are said to be many. In the first place, it will boost influx of Indian tourists to Ladakh, which in turn, is bound to boost the economy of the entire area. Secondly, it will accelerate constructional and building activates in the region which otherwise would suffer for shortage of manpower. In the process the labourers will also find work and support their families. Additionally, the most important benefit will be that this will lead to social and psychological integration of the people of Ladakh and the rest of the country. Ladakh is a landlocked region where road connectivity remains suspended for six months in a year. Quashing of the permit order will open wide scope of development for the region. It has also to be noted that in accordance with the security upgrading policy of the Union Government in border areas, many developmental works and road building projects are on the anvil for Ladakh region. How are these projects brought to completion if there are obstructions and road blocks, we congratulate the District Administration for a very timely and much needed decision, and we also wish good luck to the people of Ladakh who are the pride of the nation as they are in the forefront of our border defence mechanism.
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel