National Green Tribunal Flags Major Environmental, Legal Lapses in Bijli Mahadev Ropeway Project

In a significant hearing that has raised serious questions over the environmental and procedural validity of the proposed Bijli Mahadev ropeway project in Kullu, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has flagged multiple violations in the 2.4-km project during proceedings held on December 9.

Hearing two connected Original Applications (OAs), the NGT bench headed by Justice Prakash Shrivastava expressed concern over the project’s location in an ecologically fragile and high-risk zone. During the hearing, counsel representing the Himachal Pradesh government and the State Pollution Control Board admitted that there is no separate Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the ropeway. Instead, they claimed that the feasibility report itself was being treated as the DPR.

The tribunal observed that even this feasibility report is incomplete. While it refers to several annexures from page 407 onwards, these crucial supporting documents were not placed on record, leaving major gaps in the project’s planning, assessment and regulatory compliance.

Serious discrepancies were also highlighted in the forest clearance process. Contrary to earlier claims by project proponents, the applicants submitted that forest rights settlement under the Forest Rights Act remains incomplete. Although the project affects forest rights in 14 villages, records show that claims have been settled in only four villages so far.

In a startling revelation, the tribunal was informed that the no-objection certificate (NOC) related to forest rights is allegedly forged. A police report has already been filed in this connection, a fact noted in the Original Applications. The allegation of forgery has cast a shadow over the project’s legitimacy and raised concerns over attempts to bypass statutory safeguards meant to protect forest-dependent communities.

The NGT also referred to the project’s own feasibility report, which acknowledges that the site falls in Seismic Zone V and is highly prone to landslides, with the valley station located close to the Beas river, necessitating special flood-protection measures. The applicants further pointed out that the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) classifies the region under the even more vulnerable Seismic Zone VI.

Despite these acknowledged risks, the tribunal observed that detailed safety assessments, structural stability studies and mitigation measures had neither been adequately conducted nor presented.

In view of the gravity of the issues — including the absence of a proper DPR, incomplete impact studies, unresolved forest rights and allegations of a forged NOC — the NGT has directed the Himachal Pradesh government to examine the matter and submit a detailed response within three weeks.

The case is now listed for further hearing on January 13, 2026, marking a shift from a routine environmental challenge to a broader scrutiny of possible procedural irregularities and regulatory lapses.

Read Also : “Himachal CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu Hits Back at BJP: ‘Not in an Alto—Congress Will Return in a 52-Seater Volvo’”