Shillong, Oct 15: Former Tourism Minister and UDP legislator Paul Lyngdoh has questioned the timing of the opposition to Shillong Ropeway project while all environmental clearances for the project were obtained way back in 2022.
“All environmental clearances were sought and obtained in 2022, when I was a member of the District Council. Subsequent to that, clearances from the MoEF were obtained,” Lyngdoh told journalists in his response to the objections raised against the project.
Claiming that no objection was raised at any stage earlier, he said, “The relevant dorbars have never objected at any stage, the local MLA has never objected at any point in time. This could have been raised in 2023, 2024 and 2025. Why are these bodies raising it today in 2026?” he asked.
Lyngdoh also pointed out, “The environmental clearances were the first step that were taken in 2022, when I was not even a member of the Assembly.”
On whether vested interests are behind the protest, he said, “I don’t know if they have perused all the relevant documents or they have been guided properly. But there is a timeline, a reasonable point of time after which you file whatever petition, whatever complaints you have.”
Justifying the project, Lyngdoh said, “Do you think somebody occupying the post of the President of India would agree to enter into a controversial project? The first citizen of the country coming to lay the foundation stone of a project which goes against the basic norms of environmental preservation?”
On criticism that compensatory plantation elsewhere cannot replace trees felled at Lum Shyllong, he said, “Due diligence has been done. I saw from the press clipping that nobody from the government was willing to speak, that is the only problem… So I think what is lacking is communication.”
