SHILLONG: The Meghalaya Youth Congress has strongly criticized the Shillong Peak ropeway project, citing serious issues with transparency, environmental impact, and inadequate public consultation.
Addressing the media, Youth Congress leaders highlighted that the main public consultation involved only 27 attendees—mostly officials and local leaders—with minimal community participation and widespread negative feedback.
Ebenezer Bajop Syiem pointed out that the project will require extensive tree felling for terminals and a 1-kilometer right of way, raising concerns about deforestation and water quality in the Shillong Peak area.
Photographs and RTI documents indicate that more land clearing has already occurred than officials admit.
Syiem also questioned the technical safety of the project, noting the use of a cheaper mono-cable system instead of a safer multi-cable alternative, which is especially risky in Shillong’s seismic Zone V.
Manuel Badwar added that the government failed to conduct comprehensive environmental and geological surveys, and criticized the lack of inter-departmental collaboration on the project’s assessment.
The Youth Congress argued that such a large-scale project should not proceed based on a single, poorly attended public hearing, and called for greater transparency, robust environmental safeguards, and proper stakeholder engagement.
(4FrontMedia news)
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