Shillong: The Meghalaya government has asked the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) to remove locks and seals from the Lower Terminal Point of the Shillong Peak Ropeway project at Madan Laban and return materials seized from the site on 27 October.
In a letter dated 30 October, the Tourism Department also sought the withdrawal of seizure records and custody undertakings, known as zima-namas, obtained from site managers of contractor KEC-TCL (JV). It asked the council to assure the state, the Meghalaya Ropeway Development Authority (MRDA) and the contractor that no further action would be taken.
The department said KHADC Enforcement Wing personnel entered the site between 10.30 am and noon on 27 October, evicted project staff, sealed the site office and prepared seizure lists. The council acted under Section 7A of the United Khasi-Jaintia Hills District (Trading by Non-Tribals) Regulation, 1954, citing an alleged breach of Section 3.
The government argued that the ropeway is a state public infrastructure project being implemented through the MRDA under the Meghalaya Ropeway Act, 2022. It said KEC-TCL applied for a KHADC trading licence on 18 May 2026 after securing a no-objection certificate from the Riat Laban Dorbar Pyllun; the application remains pending.
The Tourism Department cited Section 30(2) of the Ropeway Act, saying preparatory work, including tendering and engaging contractors, may take place before a licence is obtained ahead of construction. It maintained that the current site activities do not amount to trade and said the land belongs to the state government.
The department also said the project received final Stage-I approval from the Union environment ministry on 24 October 2024 to divert 2.3257 hectares of forest land in Riat Laban Reserve Forest and Riat Laban Forest.
The letter warned that if KHADC did not comply, the government would consider legal steps through competent authorities to remove the obstruction and secure the site. It held the council responsible for resulting costs and delays, and said the letter did not affect the state’s rights or position, including in relation to an FIR lodged at Laban police station on 27 October.
The action comes amid a dispute between the Joint Action Committee and the state government over the ropeway. KHADC intervened at the site over the contractor’s failure to obtain a trading licence.
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