The proposal was introduced in 2015 to boost tourism and cooperation, and subsequently economic development, in the region.
New Delhi: The Centre has scrapped a three-year-old proposal to expand the ambit of the leave travel concession (LTC) policy to include visits to countries forming the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
The minister for personnel, public grievances and pensions, Dr Jitendra Singh, made the announcement Wednesday in a written reply to a question in Parliament.
“After thorough examination of all aspects involved, the proposal was found not feasible and it was decided not to take it forward,” he added.
LTC is a component of government employees’ salaries, under which they can claim travel expenses for a family trip.
SAARC has seven member states apart from India — Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, the Maldives and Afghanistan.
The proposal to extend the concession, currently applicable to domestic travel, to SAARC countries was introduced in 2015, to boost tourism and cooperation, and subsequently economic development, in the region. Pakistan and Bangladesh were left out of the proposal for security reasons.
Ever since he assumed office in May 2014, PM Narendra Modi has been an ardent advocate of stronger ties among SAARC member states. In fact, in an unprecedented gesture that was widely appreciated, he invited the heads of state/government of all the SAARC members, including Pakistan’s then PM Nawaz Sharif, to his oath-taking ceremony ceremony.
While foreign envoys stationed in New Delhi had attended swearings-in in the past, ministry of external affairs sources said no world leader had ever been invited to attend what is traditionally seen as a domestic event.
In November 2014, at the 18th SAARC Summit in Nepal, Modi emphasised the need to enhance regional connectivity, pointing out how it was easier to travel to Bangkok and Singapore than countries in the neighbourhood.