Continuing its focus to enhance ropeway connectivity across India, the National Highways Logistics Management Ltd. (NHLML) has awarded five projects of collective length of eight km in 2023-24, while bids were invited for six additional projects, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) said in its annual report for the last financial year.
The five ropeway projects, with collective length of 8.23 km, that were awarded in 2023-24 included Bijli Mahadev in Himachal Pradesh; Dhosi Hill in Haryana, Mahakaleshwar Temple in Madhya Pradesh; Sangam in Uttar Pradesh and Shankaracharya Temple in Jammu and Kashmir.
Further those for which bids were invited were: Brahmagiri to Anjaneri in Maharashtra; Kamakhya Temple in Assam; Tawang Monastery to P T Tso Lake in Arunachal Pradesh; Kathgodam to Hanuman Garhi Temple in Nainital in Uttarakhand; Tikitoriya Mata Temple in Madhya Pradesh; and Ramtek Gad Temple in Maharashtra. The collective length of these projects is 27.80 km.
In addition to these, the ropeway at Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, of 3.5 km, is under construction while expression of interest (EOI) was invited for two projects of length 22.1 km – Gaurikund-Kedarnath and Govindghat-Ghangaria-Hemkund SahibJi – during the last financial year.
“Detailed Feasibility Study is in progress for additional 16 projects of 54 km length for further assessment. In addition, Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) have been signed with 13 states/UTs, (Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Assam, Tripura, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka and Maharashtra) for implementation of ropeway projects under Parvatmala Pariyojana…,” the Ministry said.
A total of Rs 250 crore was allocated for ropeway projects in 2023-24 that also matched the expenditure.
The Union Government initiated the development of ropeways under the ‘Parvatmala Pariyojna’ to improve accessibility and convenience for passengers and to promote tourism with last-mile connectivity in mind. It was first announced by the Finance Minister in the Union Budget 2022. Apart from hilly areas, ropeways are also being developed as an alternate mode of transportation in congested urban areas.
“The Ministry undertook the National Ropeways Development Programme-Parvatmala Pariyojana across the country to improve connectivity and convenience for commuters in hilly regions and to decongest urban areas where conventional mode of transport is saturated or not feasible… Under this program, the Ministry envisages provision of safe, economical, convenient, efficient, self-sustainable and world-class ropeway infrastructure providing first and last mile connectivity to improve logistics efficiency in India,” it said.
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