Those looking to visit hill stations in the State no longer need to obtain prior permission by applying for e-passes. Henceforth, it will be sufficient if they provide basic details regarding their visit, through e-registration, and obtain an auto-generated acknowledgement, Advocate-General Vijay Narayan informed the Madras High Court on Wednesday.
The submission was made before the first Division Bench of Chief Justice Amreshwar Pratap Sahi and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy, who closed a writ petition filed against the State government’s earlier insistence on obtaining prior permission before visiting hill stations.
Easing restrictions
The A-G told the court that a government order had been issued on Tuesday, replacing the requirement of obtaining e-passes with e-registration. Under the new system, there was no question of denial of permission. Visitors just had to enter basic details regarding their visit and undertake travel.
Pointing out that the State government had already replaced the old system of issuing e-passes with e-registration for those visiting Tamil Nadu from other countries and States, the A-G said a similar registration system had been introduced for visits to hill stations too.
When the petitioner’s counsel insisted that e-registration must be permitted after travel too, the Chief Justice refused to pass any such order.
He said some restrictions must be in place to keep a check on the spread of COVID-19, since many people were not following the safety norms required to keep the virus at bay.
Recalling his recent visit to see the sunrise in Kanniyakumari, the CJ said 800-1,000 people had gathered at the spot and 75% of them were not wearing masks. He immediately asked the police to make an announcement through the public address system about the necessity to wear masks and maintain physical distancing.
The CJ said he also asked the district legal services authority to arrange for masks and personally distributed about 250 of them among those who had gathered there. Hence, it is essential that some regulations are in place and there is nothing wrong in going for e-registration before undertaking travel to hill stations, he added.
