Guidelines for expeditions in Uttarakhand
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Procedure of application to undertake Mountaineering expeditions in Uttarakhand
Proposal from foreign and Indian nationals:
Any proposal by foreign and Indian national to undertake mountaineering expeditions in Uttarakhand must be submitted to the Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF), Delhi, which will coordinate with the concerned agencies of the Government of India to get the necessary clearances.
The application to the IMF must be made on the prescribed form along with the requisite supporting documents with handling charges, hiring charges of liaison officer's equipment and environmental levy payable to IMF in addition to the fee for Indian and foreign nationals given at Annex-III payable to Uttarakhand State Government.
Foreigners entering Uttarakhand State are required to be in possession of Inner Line Permits for areas where required, besides valid passport and visas.
Uttarakhand State Government does not permit scaling of peaks that are located within the Nanda Devi National Park, or which require access through the national park.
Procedure for Clearance
The applications by foreign and Indian expeditions are to be submitted to IMF in Delhi at least 90 days in advance prior to the commencement of expedition. These applications will be processed by the IMF for obtaining Governmental clearance as here to fore.
After receipt of clearance from IMF the State Government will send intimation of its approval or otherwise to the IMF within a week from the date of receipt of the complete application. On approval, a copy of the proposal along with the route maps and other details will be sent to the concerned District Magistrate, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) and Superintendent of Police for information about the ensuing expedition in the area. All the above-mentioned officers will immediately issue the necessary directions to the concerned field staff in this regard.
IMF will issue a letter of final clearance in favour of the expedition party only after receiving of approval of the State Government and send a copy of the same to the State Govt by e-mail/fax.
Measures
Measures for Environmental safety
The Forest Department (FD) will be the nodal agency to monitor and regulate mountaineering as per the existing laws of forest conservation, environment protection and wildlife protection, as well as the allied rules applicable in the area.
Measures for ensuring garbage disposal
Before the commencement of the expedition, the Liaison Officer and Team Leader, as the case may be, must compulsorily declare the biodegradable as well as non-biodegradable waste material being carried by the team, at the ECP. The Team Leader shall pledge a security deposit in the form of a demand draft amounting to Rs. 10,000/= for a foreign expedition and Rs. 5000/= for an Indian expedition, in favour of the concerned DFO and hand it over to the local Forest Range Officer at the ECP (See Form NO. 1 (Part IV) for detailed instructions).
On return, the team must give an undertaking in Form No. 2 to the effect that it has carried back all the non-biodegradable waste material generated by it at various camps, and suitably disposed the biodegradable waste. The team must declare all the non-biodegradable waste generated during the expedition and deposit the same at the ECP or at a suitable site on a road head as designated by the DFO. The local Range Officer will release the security deposit at the earliest after s/he certified the deposit of non-biodegradable garbage at the ECP.
It shall be the responsibility of the FD to transport the non-biodegradable garbage from ECP/ designated site, to the recycling zone.
Measures for ensuring carriage of sufficient food and fuel
The Team Leader shall ensure the provision of the sufficient food and fuel for the core expedition team members and porters for the onward and return journey from successive transit camps and the base camp. The Team Leader must give an undertaking to this effect at the ECP (See Form No. 1 (Part IV) for detailed instructions.)
Number of Core Expedition Team Members and Frequency of Expeditions
Each expedition will comprise a maximum of 10 core expedition members including a doctor, but excluding the LO. Not more than two additional climbing members will be allowed on payment of a prescribed, additional Peak Fee in case of mixed expeditions. A maximum of 4 high altitude porters/guides/Sherpas shall be allowed per climbing member till the base camp. However, only 2 porters/guide/Sherpas will be allowed per climbing member from the base camp to the peak.
The maximum number of expeditions to a particular peak by any route will be limited to 2 expeditions per calendar month. However, not more than twelve expeditions shall be allowed in one calendar year to any particular peak and satellite peaks in close proximity.
Fees and Tariff payable to Uttarakhand State Government
The payments due to be made to Uttarakhand State Government will be made directly by the Expedition/Tour Operator to the Chief Wild Life Warden, Uttarakhand, through a demand draft drawn in favour of Director, Rajaji National Park, payable at Dehradun.
The additional payment will include the following:
- Camping site fee and trail management fee.
- Service/handling charges of State Govt.
- Peak fee
- Environmental Levy of Rs. 20,000
- National Parks and Sanctuaries Fee, where applicable
- Professional Filming Fee in National Parks and Sanctuaries, where applicable.
Expeditions which do not move through Tour Operators may pay the above mentioned fees through a separate demand draft (payable at Dehradun) drawn in favour of Director, Rajaji National Park, Dehradun and hand over such payment to IMF for onward transmission to Uttarakhand State Govt. It should please be noted that the Uttarakhand Govt clearance to an expedition shall be conditional to receipt of full payment of levies/fees recovered by them.
In case of the expedition route passing through National Parks and Sanctuaries, the entry fee for such protected areas shall be deposited in addition to the fees enumerated. Permission for filming will be granted as per existing norms on individual basis. Plsee refer the detailed list of the fees and tariff payment to the State Government of Uttarakhand.
Terms and Conditions to be observed for all expeditions in Uttarakhand in general
The terms & conditions are as follows:
- Of all the High Altitude Porters (HAP), helpers and guides being used by the expedition, at least will comprise local persons.
- All expeditions shall ensure return of non-biodegradable waste generated by them to the ECP. They shall undertake to abide by such terms and conditions as may be further stipulated in this regard by the State Government.
- Expedition teams shall abide by the relevant laws of the State, during their stay in Uttarakhand.
- I t shall be mandatory for all teams to travel only along the permitted route. Permission for deviation from the permitted route shall be given by the CWLW only under exceptional circumstances. The team leader must bring any such deviation to the notice of local DFO at the first opportunity.
- The team shall not carry any weapons and/or injurious substances, which can injure, harm or kill any wildlife or destroy their habitat. The team shall not poach, kindle fires or leave burning embers, destroy, deface or remove any wildlife, trees, herbs, shrubs, sign-posts etc during the expedition.
- The team shall ensure carriage of a sufficient quantity of kerosene oil and LPG for heating and cooking purposes. The use of firewood is strictly prohibited during the expedition.
- The team shall refrain from polluting waters with human and kitchen waste.
- The team shall carry sufficient quantity of bags/containers for bringing all non-bio-degradable waste back from transit camps and base camp to be deposited on return at the ECP.
- The team is advised to avail of all infrastructure facilities (boarding, lodging and transport) available with the State Government such as Tourist Rest Houses, Forest Rest Houses and Home-stay facilities available in the villages enroute.
- The State Government shall not be responsible for any loss of life or property of any expedition team.