Monday Musing
[Amar Sangno]
The recent hullabaloo by activists of the Arunachal Pradesh ST Bachao Andolan (APSTBA) over the alarming rate of illegal immigration in our state and over porous inner line permit (ILP) checks is a stark reminder that the existing ILP checking mechanism is archaic and outdated amid fast-moving technological advances.
It causes major concern among conscientious citizens that illegal immigrants may overwhelm our state’s resources, impact demography, and cause major security concerns.
Neither a student organisation nor a civil society has legal validity to take the law into its own hands by resorting to vigilantism, heckling, and harassing individuals under the pretext of checking ILPs. It’s the job of the people at the helm of affairs and the police to keep the system in place.
The bigger question is, are they really doing it? If yes, why are hundreds of illegal migrant workers prowling around every nook and corner of the state without an ILP or with fake ILPs? From where do they sneak in?
As per Google reports, the recent surge, as of late 2025 data, in tourism in Arunachal Pradesh has experienced a “347.6% increase” in some reports, with overall figures crossing the 1 million mark. In 2024, over 12 lakh (1.2 million) total visitors were recorded. However, the revenue collected by the department concerned is way low, roughly estimated at Rs 14 crore.
Officially, there are 71 check gates along the interstate Arunachal-Assam boundary.
Bhalukpong and Balemu gates: Major entrances to Tawang, Bomdila, and Dirang.
Hollongi, Banderdewa and Gumto gates: Convenient entry to the capital city (Itanagar) and Ziro valley.
Likabali-Pasighat gate: Gateway to the Siang belt.
Roing gate: Entry to Dibang Valley area.
Sunpura and Dirak gates: Entry to Namsai, Lohit and Anjaw.
The Namchik and Namdang gates in Changlang, and the Kanubari gate in Longding district are other major check gates.
Why are these check gates so porous? The answer is obvious. The current eILP system faces challenges in operational environments. For example, connectivity dependence: verification often fails or is delayed in areas with no internet facility; choking at check points due to slow process and delays; high risk of forgery and tampering with printed ILPs, which can be duplicated or altered.
The existing ILP verification system lacks strong cryptographic checks. It is heavily overburdened by manual verification, as officials at check gates rely on visual check for photos and details, increasing the risk of human errors, impersonation, and unauthorised entry.
The current system also has limited integration with security protocols, as there is no non-repudiable mechanism, and there is absence of offline audit trail for later analysis.
From the operational inefficiency point of view, slower processing at check gates during peak tourist seasons causes frustration among tourists and security personnel. There is a high risk of identity theft by misusing Aadhaar, EPIC and driving licences.
Mandatory UIDAI guidelines deviation is found in the ILP system, where you can upload any picture, as there is no double check validation. Uploaded Aadhaar details of the citizens saved in the servers are unmasked where data leak can cause huge penalties as per UIDAI guidelines.
There are many more factors causing illegal immigration that is impacting the state’s socioeconomic sector.
Arunachal is entirely dependent on migrant workers in civil and masonry work sectors. This dependence has extended to the business sector and the daily markets, and vegetable shops are majorly run by migrants.
When the department responsible is not doing enough to check rapid illegal immigration, the civil society, students’ organisations and vigilant citizens have to rise above the law to safeguard their own state and its culture.
“Our main objective is, Arunachal should be safe for its own people. The rising crime rates related to illegal migrants and growing influx of Tibetan refugees, and non-APST offspring enjoying state’s facilities are our major concerns,” said APSTBA chairman Sol Dodum.
It is learnt that the government had constituted a high-level committee to study and recommend ILP reforms. “Recommendations were deliberated and directions given for implementation. A tech-based foolproof solution is on the anvil,” said a bureaucrat who wished not to be named.
The ILP checking mechanism needs to be made more robust to check illegal migrants. It requires cutting-edge technological intervention with a facial recognition device integrated with Aadhaar data, so that any defaulter can be detected within a second.
It is necessary to design a facial recognition device, decentralise storage, and set up blockchain (for secure, temper-proof credential-sharing) for faster processing and shorter queues, paperless and contactless, etc.
The onus is on the Political Department to come up with a foolproof solution to the ILP checking mechanism. Or else the entire state would be weighed down by illegal immigrants in the years to come.