NGT issues notices to state, Centre over Bijli Mahadev ropeway project

Abhinav Vashisht

Kullu, September 24

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued notices to the Himachal Government and the Union Ministry of Forest and Environment amidst stiff opposition from villagers to the setting up of the Rs 284-crore Bijli Mahadev ropeway project in Kullu. The NGT has issued notices to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Himachal Pradesh Government, state Forest Department and the State Pollution Control Board and directed them to respond to the allegations before the next date of hearing on November 25.

The NGT order comes at a time when villagers are demanding the scrapping of the 2.4-km ropeway project that will link Pirdi to the shrine of Bilji Mahadev, located on hilltop.

Local villagers, too, have been opposing the ropeway project citing environmental concerns and religious sentiments. The ropeway is part of the Central Government’s ‘Parvatmala’ initiative and will transport up to 36,000 passengers every day, reducing the arduous trek to a seven-minute ride.

Interestingly, Maheshwar Singh, a former BJP state president and MP, who is the scion of the erstwhile royal family of Kullu, is also supporting the public movement against the ropeway. “The deity culture has its own relevance and it must be honoured and preserved. There are reports of cracks developing in the Bijli Mahadev hills and damage to the Kullu-Manali highway, which is a clear indication of the deity’s wrath. We must abandon the ropeway project,” he added.

The NGT’s action comes on a petition filed by local resident Nachiketa Sharma, who raised serious concerns over rampant deforestation and slope destabilisation in the ecologically-sensitive Kharal valley and Bijli Mahadev hills. He sought immediate halting of the project, citing the lack of proper environmental appraisal and disregard for the region’s fragile ecosystem.

The petitioner stated that the project had already resulted in the felling of at least 77 deodar trees out of sanctioned 203 trees over 3.1 hectares of forestland. The plea before the NGT warned of an immediate ecological fallout. Photographic evidence submitted to the NGT, showing recent landslides and subsidence at the project site during the monsoon rain, highlighting the destabilisation of the already vulnerable Himalayan slopes.

The petitioner alleged that project approvals were granted without conducting essential studies, including carrying-capacity evaluation, slope-stability assessment and a cumulative Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). An NGT-appointed Joint Committee had recommended these measures earlier in a related case. Notably, the Himachal Pradesh Government had acknowledged the need for such studies in an affidavit filed in May 2025.

The petitioner accused the authorities concerned of violating the Forest Rights Act, 2006, by failing to consult the affected local communities or secure gram sabha resolutions.

The project has faced strong opposition from residents, local panchayats and Kardars, who argue that it threatens irreversible ecological damage and desecrates the sacred meadows of Bijli Mahadev.