Shillong, June 13: Following the recent murder of a tourist in Sohra and the renewed calls for Inner Line Permit (ILP), the State Cabinet on Friday took stock of the situation and resolved to revisit the Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act (MRSSA), 2016, to tighten safety mechanisms and close existing gaps.

Cabinet Minister and MDA Spokesperson Paul Lyngdoh, addressing reporters after the meeting, said, “Yes, because the Cabinet today also decided to revisit the MRSSA, which is already an existing state act to add more teeth to this act in view of what we have just experienced at Sohra and to ensure that we minimise the possibility of criminal elements entering Meghalaya in the guise of tourists.”

While acknowledging the persistent demand for ILP, Lyngdoh pointed out that the matter now rests with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). “As far as the ILP is concerned, let me remind you that the State Assembly has already adopted a resolution. The matter is pending before the MHA, which has a number of queries, which we as a state government are trying to address,” he said.

He further explained, “Some of these queries relate to the fact that Meghalaya is not an endpoint. We are also connecting the rest of the Northeast like Silchar and the state of Mizoram and Tripura.”

Despite the ILP status being uncertain, Lyngdoh emphasised that the state already has safeguards under the MRSSA framework. “If you go through the MRSSA, there is already a lot that is already in place, but we need to upscale and further improve upon what we already have in the MRSSA. So, we will come up with formal proposal,” he assured.

Speaking about the tourism surveillance measures already in place, Lyngdoh said, “We already have a tourism app, which records all movements of tourists, including the cars or whatever mode of transport they use, and also registration of compulsory registration of all visitors at various Homestays, resorts, and hotels. Now, the use of this app is roughly around 50%, but we will now make it compulsory that all Homestays, resorts, and other places of accommodation should register all visitors, mandatorily.”

He also underlined the objective of revisiting the Act, saying “MRSSA is our version of what we would like to do in order to ensure the safety of all residents of Meghalaya.”

He said the government is revisiting the act in order to plug whatever loopholes it currently has, and give it more dynamism and more thrust in view of the Sohra incident. He asserted that the focus of the state is to ensure “we have an atmosphere that is safe and we continue to be tourist friendly.”

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