Thoughts on the Adventure Policy (GR). September 2020 - p1

 A lot of progress has been made on the Adventure Policy in the sept 2020 GR

But a lot more need to be done . These are our thoughts 

PS we are just observers over the past 15 years .

Page 2

3. The following categories of organizers:

3(8). Individuals who organize adventure activities

Over the past 4+ years we have seen trekking organisation moving from the cities to the base villages . Where the base village guides now advertise on facebook and instagram on their own and bypass the city organisers . So 3(8) needs more detailed sub sections.

Pg 3

Temporary Registration is mandatory for all Adventure Activities.

using certified equipment, trained staff, all required infrastructure and following Safety Guidelines.

Those observing the waterfall rappelling will know that these points are not available to some organisers   .

page 3  will have to apply for Temporary Registration by paying a fee of Rs. 1000/-

 page 6 :- A fee of Rs.3,000/- for the Final Registration Certificate must be paid for

each category of Adventure Activity (such as Land, Air and Water). This

means that if an applicant is registering for only one out of the Land, Air

and Water activity, he will be charged Rs.3,000/- as registration fee.

2. If the applicant is applying for Registration for more than one adventure

medium, he must pay a fee of Rs.6,000/- (for two media) or Rs.9,000/- (for

three media).

This is not going to be costly to those experienced trekking who are starting their own organisation and also the base village organisers/guides.One of the reason is the thin margins they keep and also a huge number of organiser are almost broke and could pay this amount after organizing a few treks and getting customers. 

temporary registration certificate will be issued by the Office of the Director

No clarity yet on where exactly do the organiser go for registration. Also it will be very difficult for the base village organiser .  

Application must be made with attaching

the following documents.

• Shop Act License
• IT Returns

looking at the list of Trekking groups in Maharashtra this would leave out a large section of the trek organizers who do all their organizing from their mobile phone . 

 Page 6 Individual participants as well as those organizers who are actually present at

the site of adventure activity must have adequate insurance cover.

Pg 11 Organizers that promote adventure activities through social media and

conduct such activities also must follow process of registration.

Organisers conducting adventure activities without registration / in an

unauthorised manner are liable for penal action.

Pg 13 It is essential that the adventure tourism service providers shall have

full time experienced, efficient, trained staff.

pg 14 The organisers shall also arrange

for sufficient insurance cover for field workers, guides and other

professionals concerned with the adventure activity.

pg 15 It is mandatory for the adventure tourism service provider to have

a list of the nearest dispensaries / list of doctors.

pg 18 Organization should form a Risk Management Team comprising of

experienced members to look at all the aspects of risk management. 

pg 19  Mail Runners, in case of very remote locations for quick communication and reporting 

Pg 19 Contact numbers of nearby Medical centers, Medical professionals,

Government authorities (Police stations), Rescue teams / organizations, transporters 

I do not think these database (pg19) exist . Most needs government help to compile . Please share if they exist  

Pg 23

Participants fitness Certificates & medical history from Registered Medical Practitioners, personal information like blood group, allergies, emergency contact details etc.

These are important but i dont think 99.9 organisation have these records. Also do these breach the privacy of the individuals  ? maybe with the new government health stack( all india medical online database it could be possible in the future) 

pg 24 

Organization should define process of communication within and with external agencies (Police, media, public and government agencies) in Emergency situations.

I do not think this is possible without the government help to get all this information .  

pg 25 

It is recommended that the organization should issue written Work Orders to its Service Providers for outsourced Services. The Work Order should clearly specify

 pg 30 It is important that all the members of the Mountaineering mission are qualified enough to take the initiative in this endeavour. The primary training certificate issued by  national training Institute will be considered sufficient for the same.The leader of mountaineering institute should have adequate qualification accredited by National

Mountaineering Institute.

Though desirable . It will need local training options and government grants  

pg 30 The tools used for mountaineering and trekking must be UIAA certified or accredited by Indian Mountaineering Institute.

pg 159 Climbing and mountaineering Equipment - Technical details

pg 32  The below Table can be used by Organisations as a reference to arrive at its own Leader to Participant ratio  for each Adventure Program it conducts.

pg 38-40 Guideline for Leave Minimum Impact & Leave No Trace Seven Principles

Good but dont know how many follow or event know about them as of sept 2020  

pg 42-47  Safety Guideline for All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs)

PPE required for Leaders and Participants, and other equipment 

needs to be modified for local conditions ?

pg55-78 trek guidelines (need to take a more close look)