Shillong, Nov 4: The Meghalaya government on Wednesday tried to put the Shillong Peak Ropeway controversy to rest — with numbers, clearances and a promise to keep talking.
At a public consultation at the State Convention Centre, Meghalaya Ropeway Development Authority CEO C.V.D. Diengdoh faced citizens, community representatives and organisations including the KSU Laban Circle, and laid out the project’s safeguards point by point.
His core assurance: the ropeway will not affect any water source. Citing a PHE Department report, he said the six towers connecting Laban to the Shillong Viewpoint will occupy only 0.2 per cent of the total catchment area. The springs, he said, sit 500 metres to one kilometre away from the alignment and will remain untouched.
On the forest fear, Diengdoh said the ropeway is designed to run along the ridge and pass above the tree line, keeping tree felling to the bare minimum.
He explained that the project does not fall under Category A or B of the Centre’s EIA Notification and is therefore exempt from a statutory public hearing. But because it is funded by the New Development Bank, an Environment and Social Management Plan was prepared and approved, and a social impact assessment and public consultation were done by the Meghalaya Institute of Governance.
The ropeway is being built to European CEN standards with technical support from POMA, the French major with experience in ropeways in eco-sensitive zones. It has NOCs from the Indian Air Force, Indian Army and Airports Authority of India, with RITES as project management consultant. Tree-cutting permission has come from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and compensatory afforestation will be carried out by the Forest Department.
Diengdoh said the monocable gondola is not just a ride, it is meant to transform access to one of Meghalaya’s most loved viewpoints, turn the journey itself into an attraction, and open up jobs and livelihoods for local youth. Funded by the New Development Bank and PM-DevINE, it could become the model for future ropeways across the state.
On the absence of the Joint Action Committee, he said the government is still ready to sit across the table.
“We are here to engage with everyone and address the concerns raised. It is important that the public understands the project and the safeguards in place,” he said, adding that the public had sought clarifications and urged continued dialogue with the JAC.
The message from the government was clear: the project will move forward, but not without safeguards, and not without talking.
