SHILLONG, NOV 5: The Meghalaya government is ready to take stakeholders opposing the Shillong Ropeway project to Sikkim and Shimla to see how ropeways operate amid hill stations, Tourism Minister Paul Lyngdoh announced on Thursday.
He said the offer is open to all stakeholders, including members of the Joint Action Committee Against Shillong Ropeway Project.
“We are willing to engage further with these stakeholders by taking them to sites like Sikkim and Shimla, where we have ropeway projects amid hill stations,” Lyngdoh said.
He said the time to object has long passed.
“There is a time, you know, when people get married, the pastor or the priest asks whether you have anything to say now or you keep your mouth shut forever. He will not say, if you have any complaint about this man, the bride and the groom, come back to me in four years’ time. No priest will say that,” Lyngdoh said.
Lyngdoh was responding to suggestions that the government should shift the ropeway to Sohra or other places where people want it, following stiff opposition in Shillong.
“See, this is not a cut-and-paste job, like you normally would do on your computer,” he said.
“The soil condition of this particular site will be different from the soil condition elsewhere. Clearances by the Defence Ministry might not be required elsewhere. A lot of things will change.”
He said a ropeway in the heart of the city will elevate the tourist experience and add value to Shillong as a destination.
“The same people who complain about so-called ‘maggie tourists’ are also the same people complaining about ropeway projects. How does that work out? You can’t complain about one and complain about the other,” Lyngdoh said.
“You talk about high-value, low-volume tourism. How do you add value to tourism? If you have a ropeway, you will have people enjoying that experience. So, tourism itself becomes experiential. It is not that you just visit waterfalls,” he said.
Lyngdoh also rejected the argument against five-star hotels.
“Somebody has also asked, why do you need five-star hotels when you have good waterfalls? You can’t expect guests from outside to bring their own tents and stay near waterfalls. They have to have an elevated, enhanced experience of tourism,” he said.
On the stalemate over the KHADC trading licence, Lyngdoh said the firm applied on May 18, 2026, and the application is under process.
“Where government-owned projects are concerned, it is always taken that it is a formality that the government seeks a licence,” he said.
He said the lock at the site was broken yesterday because the property belongs to the Government of Meghalaya under the Department of Forest.
Asked if the project does not require a trading licence, he said, “They do, they have applied, and we expect that the licence will come too shortly. As of now, only preliminary work has started at the site, but we are confident that we will obtain the licence.”
To another question, he said, “Let us take it one step at a time. If it can be sorted out at the level of the Director, so be it.”
