Shillong ropeway row: Meghalaya files FIR over Laban site sealing

The Meghalaya government has filed a first information report (FIR) against an inspector of the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) who seized and sealed the lower terminal site of the proposed Shillong Peak Ropeway at Madan Laban.

Tourism Department Commissioner and Secretary R.M. Kurbah told reporters in Shillong on Wednesday, October 28, that the complaint had been lodged at Laban police station against the individual who took over the site on Tuesday. No one has been arrested, and police are looking into the matter, she said.

"No construction till date"

The ₹151-crore project is funded by the New Development Bank. Kurbah said the land at Madan Laban belongs to the government and had been used as a temporary camp for preparatory work: soil testing, building an approach road and levelling the ground. She said these steps were also needed to meet the project's environmental and social safeguard requirements.

She rejected claims that foundations had been dug for the ropeway's six towers or for the lower terminal, saying no construction had started anywhere on the project.

Kurbah described the seizure as unauthorised, arguing that government property could not be taken over or sealed without due legal process. She stressed that the FIR names the individual involved, not the KHADC as an institution, and said the department has begun legal steps to get the site back.

Licensing and consultation questions

Much of the dispute centres on whether the contractor had the trading licence the district council requires. Kurbah laid out the timeline as the department sees it:

• The contractor obtained a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the local Dorbar on May 4, 2026.
• It applied to the KHADC for a trading licence on May 18.
• It sought a further NOC from the Syiem of Hima Mylliem on July 16.
• Additional clearances, including from the Dorbar of the five shnong and eleven Kur of Laban-Mylliem, came through on September 28.

She said the licence process had been running since May and should not be read as an attempt to build without permission.

On public consultation, Kurbah said a ropeway follows a different process from projects such as highways that need a formal public hearing. She said the Meghalaya Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation had engaged with the Dorbars concerned, and that consultations with Raid Laban in 2022 drew no objections.

Water source concerns

Some objectors have raised fears about the Lum Shillong water catchment. Kurbah said the towers would run along the ridge and that, by the department's assessment, the water source would not be affected in the way that has been alleged. She said Lum Shillong is about 3.5 km from the project site.

Project not suspended

Asked whether the government would put the project on hold, Kurbah said no such decision had been taken and that the situation would be reviewed over the coming days as talks continue. The KHADC's position on the licence and the sealing has not been detailed in the department's briefing.