Shillong, October 17: The Joint Action Committee (JAC) Against Shillong Ropeway on Saturday staged a protest rally demanding the relocation of the proposed ropeway project from Laban Pyllun, giving the state government a 10-day ultimatum to act or face intensified agitation. Carrying anti-ropeway placards, residents marched from Last Stop to the starting point of the Shillong Ropeway project, expressing strong opposition to its construction over concerns about environmental damage, water scarcity and alleged lack of public consultation.
Speaking to reporters, JAC secretary Dr Linda Marbaniang said the residents were determined to oppose the project and would consider further agitation if the government failed to respond within the stipulated period. “We have given an ultimatum to the government to reconsider this project and take it somewhere else. This is not the right place for a tourist spot,” she said.
“We have given the government 10 days to take a decision. If they don’t listen to us, we will extend our agitation. We really do not want the ropeway here. It is all negative, not a benefit for the people here. We the residents will suffer,” she added.
Marbaniang said the JAC would collectively decide its next course of action, including the possibility of approaching the Meghalaya High Court, if its demands were ignored. “We will have to sit together and think about what is the next step. Collectively, we will make a decision,” she said, adding that a hunger strike could also be considered as part of the next phase of agitation.
Rejecting the government’s assertion that the project would have no environmental impact, Marbaniang claimed that the felling of trees had already contributed to water shortages in the locality. “We have to be practical. Can you say there is no environmental effect? You live in Shillong. The rainfall we used to receive is not there anymore. We have cut down so many trees and this has affected the weather. When there is no rainfall, there is no water. The springs here will dry up,” she said.
On the proposal for compensatory afforestation on alternative land, she said the residents had no land available for such plantation.
Explaining why the protest was launched only after work on the project had begun, Marbaniang alleged that residents were kept in the dark and no public hearing was conducted to obtain their consent. “When they started, they did not call for a public hearing. We were unaware. We are not against development. But after they cut down the trees, there was shortage of water everywhere. We realized it was because of this,” she said.
She said the JAC had taken time to gather documents and information from various government departments, including through Right to Information (RTI) applications, before launching its protest. “It took time because we had to go to different departments to find out the facts. We had to file RTIs, get papers. We cannot come out without papers, without justification,” she added.
Marbaniang also questioned how construction activities were continuing despite what she alleged was the absence of mandatory clearances, including a No Objection Certificate (NOC) and trading licence. “You don’t even have the NOC, you don’t even have the trading license but work is going on. Is it right? You have gone against human law and regulation,” she said.
Describing Lum Shillong as a sacred and God-given gift, she urged the authorities to preserve the area rather than proceed with the project.
The JAC secretary also accused the Dorbar Shnong of betraying the residents by allegedly failing to inform or consult them before the project was taken forward. “They have done this behind our back. They did not intimate us, did not call us for a public hearing, did not discuss with us whether we wanted it or not. It is a total betrayal,” she alleged.
However, Marbaniang said the JAC remained willing to participate in a public hearing if one was convened by the state government. She reiterated that the residents were not opposed to development but would continue to resist the ropeway project at its present location, maintaining that it would adversely affect the environment and the lives of people living in Laban Pyllun.
