A Fragile Ecosystem at the Center of Dispute

The ambitious Rs 151-crore Shillong Peak Ropeway Project has snowballed into a major institutional and environmental controversy in Meghalaya. The state government’s push for construction at Lum Shyllong has drawn fierce pushback from local residents, political factions, and traditional administrative bodies, setting the stage for a prolonged legal and administrative standoff.

At the forefront of the grassroots resistance is the Joint Action Committee (JAC) Against the Shillong Ropeway Project. The committee has spearheaded widespread protests, arguing that the infrastructure initiative poses a severe and irreversible threat to vital water sources, dense forest cover, fragile wildlife habitats, and the overall local ecosystem. While the JAC continues to demand the outright scrapping or relocation of the project, political leaders have escalated the pressure by threatening contempt of court proceedings over alleged violations of judicial directives.

The KHADC Sealing and State Pushback

The conflict sharply escalated when the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) Enforcement Wing took direct action against the executing entities. Led by Inspector Kordor Synrem, the council’s enforcement team sealed the lower terminal site, evicted project personnel, and confiscated project-related materials. The action was justified under the provisions of the United Khasi-Jaintia Hills District (Trading by Non-Tribals) Regulation, 1954, with the council asserting that the joint venture executing the project—comprising KEC International and Tantia Construction—had proceeded without acquiring a mandatory trading licence.

However, the Meghalaya government swiftly pushed back against the council's intervention. State authorities demanded that the KHADC immediately remove the locks and seals, return the seized equipment, and issue a written assurance that no further coercive action would be taken against the project. In a escalatory move, the state tourism department subsequently lodged a formal police case against KHADC inspector Kordor Synrem, though no arrests have been executed.

Defending the government's stance, Tourism Department Commissioner R.M. Kurbah maintained that the premises fall under state ownership and are currently utilized strictly for preliminary preparations rather than active commercial construction. Invoking Section 30(2) of the Meghalaya Ropeway Act, 2022, the department argued that project promoters are legally authorized to undertake preliminary arrangements prior to finalizing contractor licensing formalities. Furthermore, the state highlighted that the project had secured crucial Stage-II forest clearance from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change for the diversion of over 2.3 hectares of land within the Riat Laban Reserve Forest.

Political Fallout and Legal Warnings

The controversy has also attracted heavy political involvement. Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit, chief of the Voice of the People's Party (VPP), has stepped forward to express solidarity with protesting residents in Laban Pyllun while condemning the state's decision to press charges against the KHADC inspector for simply performing his statutory duties.

Citing the United Khasi-Jaintia Hills District Management and Control of Forest Act, 1958, Basaiawmoit argued that traditional Raid forests must be strictly managed by their designated heads under established district council regulations. He further accused state authorities, forest officials, and local leaders of flouting Supreme Court directives, warning that his party is prepared to initiate contempt of court proceedings against all complicit government departments.

As the JAC recently walked out of a government-convened dialogue, the standoff between traditional autonomous bodies and state administration deepens, leaving the future of the Shillong ropeway venture uncertain.