Bhubaneswar, Feb. 25: The state government today sought to restrict the access of foreign tourists and researchers to areas inhabited by particularly vulnerable tribal groups by making permission of the collector concerned mandatory for such visits.

Any violation would lead to criminal cases being filed against the tourists or the tour operators facilitating such visits.

The decision comes in the wake of a recent controversy over some tour operators of the state trying to entice foreigners by offering “human safaris” in the Bonda valley of Malkangiri district.

The government appears to be particularly sensitive about the Bondas and the Dongria Kondhs, who rank high on its list of particularly vulnerable tribal groups. Members of both these groups, whose lifestyle inspires curiosity among outsiders, live on forested hills.

The new regulations seek to involve not just collectors, but also the local police stations in monitoring foreigners’ visits to these areas. It will be the local police’s responsibility to ensure that the conditions in the collector’s permission are strictly followed.

While granting permission, the collector has to impose conditions necessary to protect and uphold the culture and dignity of the tribal community. The conditions, among other things, may restrict the visit to only selected villages or hamlets taking into account the sensitivity of the area and the purpose of the visit.

While the tourists will be accompanied by a representative of the development agency looking after the welfare of the concerned tribal group, no night visits would be allowed. The visitors would also be prohibited from taking photographs or recording videos of the tribal people.

“Physical proximity of the tourists to the particularly vulnerable tribal groups should be strictly prohibited. They should also not be allowed to enter into the houses of the particularly vulnerable tribal groups,” said the government guidelines, adding that the district administration concerned must also ensure that the tribal groups were not engaged in entertaining the tourists in any manner.

Tour operators interested to organise trips of foreigners to the tribal belt, would have to register themselves with the department of tourism and culture. However, they will be prohibited from using photographs and videos of the particularly vulnerable tribal groups or use any write-ups about them in an “inappropriate” manner for the promotion of tourism. They would also be required to submit a monthly report on foreign tourists visiting the areas inhabited or frequented by the vulnerable tribal groups.

After the controversy over “human safaris” being offered to foreigners in the Bonda land surfaced last month, chief minister Naveen Patnaik ordered a probe following which a case was lodged against a tour operator. Orissa Travels and Tours Association, the umbrella organisation of tour operators in the state, had also expressed concern over the issue.

The controversy, however, concerned only the Bonda tribals, who are among the most primitive of the state’s 62 tribal groups. Numbering around 2,000, they live in the hills of Malkangiri. Though the Bondas no longer live semi-clad on treetops, the government remains concerned about any invasion into their privacy.

The Dongria Kondhs were in the news two years ago when they launched a movement against a corporate house that tried to mine the hills that has been home to this tribal community since time immemorial.