Shillong: Meghalaya government officials are standing by the Shillong Ropeway Project. Cabinet Minister Paul Lyngdoh defended the venture on Friday after environmental groups and a Joint Action Committee pushed back against tree felling. He claimed the project met all legal and environmental standards well before construction began.
Lyngdoh questioned why critics waited years to protest. The President of India laid the foundation stone in January 2024. "For somebody to suddenly realise after two-and-a-half years that this is bad, I don’t understand the logic," Lyngdoh said. He remains suspicious of the timing behind the sudden complaints.
The project started after requests from the Raj Laban Dorbar. Local MLA Sanbor Shullai supports the work. Construction is already creating jobs for residents. Beyond tourism, the system promises to move farm produce to Shillong Peak in three minutes. Lyngdoh dismissed fears about local wildlife, noting that residents dealt with monkey issues long before the project started.
The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change vetted every document. Lyngdoh argued that the federal government would never clear such a project if it posed a risk. He pointed to the Alps as a benchmark for successful ropeway systems. The government expects the build to boost the state economy once finished.
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