Ahead of Hornbill Festival, Nagaland government urges Amit Shah to exempt it from Protected Areas Permit system

Guwahati: Citing possible impact on inflow of foreign tourists to the ensuing Hornbill Festival, Nagaland government on Tuesday urged Home Minister Amit Shah to exempt the state from the Protected Areas Permit (PAP) system and come up with relaxed guidelines.

Several lakh tourists including foreigners visit the 10-day-long annual Hornbill Festival, beginning on December 1. Hornbill is one of the country's biggest festivals.

Under the PAP system, which was re-imposed in March this year, a foreign national is required to mandatorily register with Foreigners Registration Officer's Office, apart from the visa. The PAP was re-imposed in Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram in view of concerns of national security expressed following the Meitei-Kuki conflict in neighbouring Manipur.

In a letter to Shah, Nagaland CM Neiphiu Rio said Nagaland should be exempted from the purview of the PAP as the situation is different from other states and peace has prevailed in the state for long. "While it is understood that the prevailing security situation in Manipur, and the reported influx of Myanmar refugees into Mizoram in recent years are a matter of concern and perhaps may have been the reasons for re-imposition of PAP by the Central Government, the situation in Nagaland is vastly different from others. Our State has been enjoying one of the most peaceful periods since statehood with no noticeable security concerns. In addition, the India-Myanmar border areas of the State of Nagaland remain fully peaceful, owing to the homogeneous ethnicity and close familial and social ties of the people living on both sides of the border, with no reports of ingress or influx of refugees from across the border into the State," Rio stated.

A coalition government of BJP and Nationlist Democratic Progressive Party are in power in Nagaland.

Stating that Nagaland has emerged as a global tourism destination, driven largely by the success of its "Land of Festivals" tourism policy, Rio said, "This has led to a substantial increase in foreign tourist arrivals, which in turn has boosted the economy, generated employment particularly for our youth and projected a positive image of both Nagaland and the nation. However, the imposition of the PAP regime has the potential to negatively impact all these gains."

Rio stated that the entire matter concerning the PAP regime has attained a further sense of urgency owing to the approaching festive season. "The Hornbill Festival 2025 of the State, which you are aware has come to attain global recognition drawing each year a large number of visitors and tourists from many countries, besides thousands from within the country, and is commencing from December 1 just a few weeks away from now. It is being reported that the PAP regime as being implemented presently might keep away many foreign tourists and visitors from coming to the State which they would have otherwise visited. Such a scenario, which we earnestly wish shouldn't be happening, could just set us back in our efforts to make Nagaland a global tourist destination."

Britain, Ireland and Switzerland are among the foreign partner countries of this year's Hornbill Festival.