Shillong, Oct 23: The Meghalaya Congress Party has called for the proposed Shillong Ropeway project to be put on hold, questioning the adequacy of the environmental studies, public consultation and safety assessments carried out for the Rs 151 crore project.
State Congress secretary Manuel Badwar said the government must address concerns over forest clearance, water sources, land use and the proposed ropeway system before proceeding with construction. He said the project should be scrapped if its environmental and social viability could not be established through comprehensive assessments.
Questioning the public consultation held in 2022, Badwar cited an attendance sheet available on the Meghalaya Institute of Governance (MIG) website, which he said listed only 27 participants, including five government representatives. He said the limited turnout raised concerns over whether residents of Laban and other potentially affected areas had been adequately represented.
Badwar also pointed to responses on the potential impact on water quality, claiming that around 80 percent of respondents had expressed concerns over the issue. He said the government needed to establish how the project could affect local water sources and the surrounding environment before moving ahead.
Raising questions over the scale of the proposed infrastructure, he cited a lower terminal area of 4,000 square metres and an upper terminal area of 2,400 square metres. The proposed right-of-way corridor, he said, would be around 20 metres wide and extend for approximately one kilometre.
Referring to a report by a Tourism Department executive engineer, Badwar said the project involved around 26,000 square metres for stations, towers and related infrastructure, apart from approximately 19,100 square metres under the right-of-way corridor.
He called on the government to disclose the full land requirements and explain the likely impact of the construction on the landscape and natural resources in the area.
Water availability and the protection of streams formed another major part of the Congress leader’s objections. Badwar said research by Green-Tech Foundation had identified at least three streams in the project area, while a government report had reportedly marked stream crossings as “not applicable”.
He questioned the discrepancy and said a detailed study was needed to map the streams, assess their flow and establish their connection with local water sources and catchment areas.
Badwar called for the Water Resources Department, Soil Conservation Department and Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board, along with geological experts, to be involved in the assessment. He said hydrological mapping and modelling were necessary to understand the possible effects of construction on streams, water quality and the wider catchment.
Badwar maintained that the Congress was not against development but said major infrastructure projects must be backed by transparent studies and meaningful public participation.
