Inner Line Permit biggest gift to people of Manipur- Amit Shah

Union home minister Amit Shah has said that the recently granted Inner-Line Permit (ILP) system as the best gift for the people of Manipur, one that fulfilled their long standing demand. Speaking at the foundation stone laying ceremony in Manipur’s capital city, Imphal on Sunday, Shah said that Manipur - “once a hotbed of insurgency” - is now experiencing a new thrust in development.

“Earlier, Manipur was known for insurgency, bandhs, and blockades, but now most militant organisations have joined the mainstream and those left would also do so following efforts of the BJP government,” he said. Shah also talked about the IT SEZ worth Rs 950 crore that will be soon opened which he estimated would contribute around Rs 4,600 crore towards Manipur’s GDP. The home minister  promised a medical hospital in a designated tribal area and urged chief minister N Biren Singh to look into establishing a college for forensic sciences in Manipur.

The ILP is an official travel document issued by the concerned state government to allow travel of an Indian citizen into a protected area for a limited period. It is obligatory for the citizens from outside those states to obtain a permit for entering into the protected state. The objective behind this is to prevent settlement of other Indian nationals in ILP states so as to protect the indigenous population and their access to land, jobs, and other facilities. Besides Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, and Nagaland also come under the ILP system.