The high-powered committee, headed by Chief Secretary Sudripta Roy, has decided to seek the opinion of the Law Department on memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Govt of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab for the Naina Devi-Anandpur Sahib ropeway project and get a fresh viability assessment done before arriving at a final decision.
The committee at its meeting, which was convened to have a relook at the project perceived to be lopsided and in favour of Punjab, asked Tourism department to prepare a viability report and directed to submit at the earliest. New Himachal Govt feels that with barely 274.58 metres of the 3,751-metre-stretch of the ropeway in Punjab and sharing revenue on a 50:50 basis is lopsided and not in the interest of Himachal Pradesh.
New Himachal Pradesh Govt., in its first Cabinet meeting has decided to review the MoU signed to construct rope way project and a committee headed by Chief Secretary and Secretaries for Law, Public Works Department and Finance, Director, Tourism Department and a representative of the Himachal Pradesh Infrastructure Development Board were appointed its members were asked to prepare detail report about the project and MoU and were directed to place it before the Cabinet as early as possible.
It’s expected that once the final report of the committee is submitted, the government is likely to cancel the MoU and go it alone.
