Shillong: Shillong's ropeway project is stalling. Laban-Mawprem MDC Ricky Shullai is fighting the plan, calling out the state government for its flawed environmental strategy. He argues that the decision to plant trees in South West Khasi Hills to offset the loss of a centuries-old forest in the Lum Shyllong catchment area makes no sense. The area is a vital watershed for the city.
Shullai pointed out that the site houses at least nine water sources. It also carries deep cultural weight as the home of Lei Shyllong, the guardian deity of the Khasi people. "If trees are cut in a critical catchment area, replantation must occur in the same location to restore ecological balance. Planting trees elsewhere defies logic," Shullai said.
The project, an 896-metre system designed by French firm POMA, aims to connect Riat Laban to Shillong Peak. It will feature 13 glass cabins and move 600 people an hour in four minutes. While the Meghalaya Tourism Development Authority claims all clearances are valid and authorized the felling of 544 trees, Shullai says the joint venture firm KEC-TCL lacks a required trading licence from the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council. He claims this violates the 1952 Trading by Non-Tribal Regulation.
Questions regarding community consent also persist. Shullai says residents in the Riat Laban Dorbar Pyllun were never properly consulted. Meanwhile, Acting Syiem of Hima Mylliem Alban Fedrick Syiem is withholding a No Objection Certificate. He demands formal resolutions from the seven Dorbar Shnongs and the 11 clans of Raid Mylliem first. A PIL remains active in the High Court, and a proposed alternative road route to the peak was ignored.
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