Entry Law for Visitors in Meghalaya | 02 Nov 2019

Recently, the Meghalaya Cabinet has approved amendments to the Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act (MRSSA) 2016.
The ordinance makes registration on entry mandatory for visitors who intend to spend more than 24 hours in the state of Meghalaya.
- This will require non-resident visitors to register themselves on the lines of the Inner Line Permit (ILP) system of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Mizoram.
The amendment comes in the backdrop of demands by civil society and political leaders, that people excluded from the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam might try to enter Meghalaya.
In the original Act the focus was on registration and documentation of tenants but the amendments will extend similar rules to all non-state residents visiting or living in the state.

The act aims to ensure the security of the tenants as well as the safety and security of the citizens of the state.
It provides for verification and regulation the tenants residing in rented houses in the state.
It also establishes District Task Force and Facilitation Centres for effective enforcement of various laws for the safety and security of the citizens.

Inner Line Permit

Inner Line Permit is an official travel document issued by the Government of India to allow inward travel of an Indian citizen into a protected/restricted area for a limited period.
It is a special permit required by “outsiders” from other regions of the country to enter the three states (Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Mizoram).
It is based on the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation Act (BEFR), 1873.
- This act was enacted during the British era to protect the British interests from the hill tribals who used to invade the British subjects
- An imaginary line known as the inner-line was created to divide between the two communities so that neither party could go beyond the line without a permit from the appropriate authorities.