SHILLONG, OCT 26: Opposing the Rs 151-crore Shillong Peak Ropeway, Thma U Rangli Juki (TUR) has called it a vanity project built on fraudulent consent that threatens Shillong’s water security.
In an email to Chief Ropeways Inspector B M Syiem dated October 24, TUR leader Angela Rangad said, “I am writing on behalf of Thma U Rangli Juki (TUR) to express our vehement opposition to the proposed Rs 151-crore Shillong Peak Ropeway Project.”
Urging the government to halt and scrap the project, Rangad said the execution “relies on a deeply flawed process, threatens our ecological survival, and lacks the public mandate.”
On consent, TUR said residents of Laban Pyllun, Lum Shyllong and Shillong as a whole were not informed or consulted, with no transparent public hearing on the need for the project.
“The government’s claims of securing ‘community consent’ are a misrepresentation of reality,” Rangad said, adding that bypassing grassroots participation is a violation of democratic norms.
TUR said public anger is clear from massive peaceful protests and a 10-day ultimatum to the government. TUR had also opposed the “useless borrowing and spending” in August 2026.
Flagging ecological concerns, Rangad said, “The project sits squarely on the Lum Shyllong catchment area, which serves as a vital water source for the entire city of Shillong. Despite official presentations claiming otherwise, over 545 trees have already been felled, deeply scarring the forest ecosystem.”
“Deforestation on this ridge directly threatens local springs and places the city at immediate risk of acute water scarcity and a severe ecological crisis,” she said.
TUR said the ropeway is redundant as the road from Upper Shillong to Shillong Peak is already four-laned and handles traffic efficiently.
“Spending Rs 151 crores of public money to destroy a pristine watershed for an unnecessary, secondary transit option is fiscally irresponsible and ecologically devastating,” Rangad said.
She added that diverting tourists through narrow Laban Pyllun roads will worsen traffic, and erecting huge towers on hill slopes in a Zone 5 seismic zone will destabilise hills and trigger landslides.
TUR also demanded that the New Development Bank withdraw the project, saying, “The false promise of employment also needs to be exposed and New Development Bank needs to reassess and withdraw this project in light of the corruption that has already taken place with regards to abuse of power and misrepresentation of facts regarding public hearings and public consent.”
