Gangtok, Aug. 17 -- The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Sikkim unit held a press conference at its City Office in Gangtok on Monday, raising sharp objections to the state government's proposed Integrated Single Window Permit System for tourism, along with a steep new permit fee structure, ahead of a stakeholder meeting scheduled with Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang.

The party said it supports the principle of a single-window, technology-driven permit system that would spare tourists and operators from visiting multiple offices for Restricted Area and Protected Area Permits. However, it raised what it called serious unanswered questions about who will own the system, who will control the data it collects, and why the fee hike attached to it...