For nearly three years, Google had been seeking permissions from the government to launch Street View in India. The proposal, which was submitted in July 2015, has reportedly been rejected by the government, the Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday. The company had mapped out over 5,000 cities and six lakh villages in India and was trying to get permissions for the past two years.

It isn't immediately clear why the government rejected Google's proposal. Union minister of state for home Hansraj Gangaram Ahir said, "The government has not agreed to the proposal." Google had planned to use Street View in India to allow users to explore Indian cities, tourist spots and other landmarks. The search giant wanted to cover most parts of India through Street View, as per a PTI report.

Street View allows users to explore landmarks, discover natural wonders and even explore locations like museums, parks among other things in 360-degree panoramic and street-level imagery. It was created in 2007, two years after Google Maps, as a way for anyone to explore landmarks and streets around the world. Neighboring countries like Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have had Street View for a while now.

While Street View is being used extensively in the US, Canada and some European countries, Google was allowed to test out the application in India in a limited scope. As an experimental basis, Google launched Street View is some tourist sites like the Taj Mahal, Red Fort, Qutub Minar, Varanasi river bank, Nalanda University, Mysore Palace, Thanjavur temple and Chinnaswamy stadium among others through a partnership with Archaeological Society of India.