PPP ropeway projects fail to take off in Uttarakhand

Several tourism projects facing hurdles due to red tape and slow green clearances

When Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat recently announced a new ropeway at the flood-battered Kedarnath, little did he realise numerous such tourism projects on public partnership mode are facing hurdles in the hill state owing to the red tape and slow green clearances.

Significantly, the chief minister made the announcement when a similar Rs 70-crore Rambara-Kedarnath ropeway project had already been shown the red flag by the environment ministry.

At a time when the government is struggling to revive tourism in the state in the wake of last year's devastation caused by flash floods, top bureaucrats are not showing much enthusiasm in pushing key ropeway projects that would help boost tourism in the state. A policy paralysis has gripped all such projects where investments are more than Rs 1,000 crore, said a ropeway infrastructure company official.

Take the case of Rs 50-crore Hemkund ropeway project, that is supposed to help pilgrims avoid the long arduous trek and give a big boost to religious tourism in Chamoli district. The state expenditure finance committee (EFC) reluctantly gave an in-principal approval to the new ropeway at Hemkund Sahib with a rider that the tourism department should also find out whether it can also be developed as an EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) project.

"I don't know what will happen to the Hemkund Sahib ropeway project after the EPC rider," said a government official.

Similarly, the Rs 800-crore Mussoorie ropeway project is also languishing over the past eight years, mainly due to slow forest clearances and the red tape. The government had cancelled the bidding process of the ropeway several times, following which the project 's future now looks bleak.

Interestingly, the construction process for three ropeway projects where implementation agreement had been signed, have failed to begin. These projects are Rs 70-crore Jankichatti-Yamunotri ropeway, Rs 35-crore Thuligad-Purnagiri ropeway and Rs 15-crore Surkanda Devi ropeway project. "The agreement for all the three projects was signed in 2011. But since then, no progress is being seen," said another official.

The policy paralysis is mainly coming at the bureaucratic level. This is despite the fact the government last year brought a new PPP policy. Despite this, most of the infrastructure projects under the private partnership mode are facing clearances hurdles at various stages.

After a long dithering, the state government had finally notified a new Uttarakhand PPP policy last year with an aim to speed up projects and give a push to infrastructure facilities in the hill state. But since then, the government, it appears, even forgot its own PPP policy.