Inner Line Permit (ILP) is an official travel document. ILP is issued by the concerned state government to an Indian Citizen. ILP permits Indian citizens to enter into a protected area for a limited period. The document is an effort by the government to regulate movement to certain areas located near the international border of India. The ILP was originally created by the British to safeguard their commercial interests in the tea, oil and elephant trade by prohibiting "British subjects" from entering into these "Protected Areas", The word "British subjects" was replaced by Citizen of India in 1950. Now, it continues to be used in India, officially to protect indigenous communities' cultures in northeastern India.
There are different kinds of ILP's as follows:
1) For tourists
2) For people who intend to stay for long-term periods, often for employment purposes.
States for which require ILP permits are Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland and Manipur. There are also ongoing demands for the introduction of ILP in Meghalaya, Assam and Andaman & Nicobar Islands to regulate the entry of outsiders into the state.
ILP is a permission granted to person who is non-tribal and wants to enter the tribal areas for tourism or any other purpose. He can stay only by the terms and conditions of the permit guaranteed to him and only for the period specified in the permit given to him. Though this procedure started way back in the British era, it is still being continued. These tribal areas which were severely underdeveloped and in need of a system of administration that would allow the tribal areas to become developed while protecting them from exploitation of people from plain areas and preserving their distinct social customs.
There are different kinds of ILP's as follows:
1) For tourists
2) For people who intend to stay for long-term periods, often for employment purposes.
States for which require ILP permits are Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland and Manipur. There are also ongoing demands for the introduction of ILP in Meghalaya, Assam and Andaman & Nicobar Islands to regulate the entry of outsiders into the state.
Recently when the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019 came out, it exempted the areas coming under Inner Line Permit (ILP) as well as tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura (as included in the sixth schedule).
The sixth schedule of the Constitution of India provides for the administration of tribal areas in the states of Assam, Tripura, Meghalaya as well as Mizoram to safeguard the rights of tribal populations in these states.
The Inner Line Permit (ILP) regime is now being used to protect such areas from the purview of Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019.
ILP is a permission granted to person who is non-tribal and wants to enter the tribal areas for tourism or any other purpose. He can stay only by the terms and conditions of the permit guaranteed to him and only for the period specified in the permit given to him. Though this procedure started way back in the British era, it is still being continued. These tribal areas which were severely underdeveloped and in need of a system of administration that would allow the tribal areas to become developed while protecting them from exploitation of people from plain areas and preserving their distinct social customs.
This permit allows Indian citizens to go and live in any State protected under ILP for a specific period of time.
Any person is entitled to renew his permit every six months if he is not a native in these states despite the fact that he/she is a long-term resident.
This permit also regulates the movement to certain areas located near the international borders of India.
Who Issues ILP?
The permit is issued by the concerned states coming under the protection of ILP.
The ILP is issued either by applying online or directly from the government office.
The ILP has details such as travel dates and the specific areas that the holder is likely to travel in the concerned state.
In 2014, the ILP was removed in Ladakh and later implemented again from 2017. The Ladakh Inner Line Permits are available online from the official website of Leh Ladakh administration. The ILP is valid for a maximum of 14 days. There is no limit on the number of times to visit a place within the valid period as long as there is necessary permits.
Foreigners need a Protected Area Permit (PAP) to visit tourist places that are different from Inner Line Permits needed by domestic tourists.
