BENGALURU: As the Karnataka government awaits approval from the Central government for the ambitious ropeway project in Nandi Hills, the state tourism department has set May 2025 as the target to lay the foundation stone.
Much to the chagrin of environmentalists and conservationists, the state government has applied on the Parivesh portal, managed by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC), for clearance of the linear project, after the state forest department gave clearance but with conditions.
Deputy Conservator of Forests, Chikkaballapur, HC Girish said forest clearance has been accorded with a few conditions, including minimal tree felling, no drilling, no blasting, no use of JCBs inside the forest and no road construction of any kind. Manual labour at the site is permitted under the supervision of forest staffers and experts. All forest rules will be enforced as the location falls in the Nandi state forest.
According to the tourism department, for execution of the 2.93km ropeway, seven acres of land are needed at the lower terminal, of which 86 guntas is forest land. Two acres are needed atop Nandi Hill, where the ropeway will terminate. The total project cost is Rs 93.40 crore, and is aimed to be completed within 24 months.
The project is being executed by Damodar Ropeways and Infra Limited and Ashoka BuildCon Limited. They have formed a special purpose vehicle with Dynamicx Ropeway Private Limited to execute the project. The public-private partnership project is being executed under DBFOT (Design, Build, Operate, Finance and Transfer) model, tourism officials working on the project said.
“If all goes well, this will be first ropeway project in Karnataka. We had planned it in other locations like Jog Falls, Chamundi Hills and hillocks of Western Ghats, but are able to execute it only in Nandi Hills. We are banking on the April 2022 notification issued by the MoEFCC, which exempted public utility ropeways from the ambit of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980,” the official added.
The project alignment has been changed owing to environmental concerns. From the earlier planned 17-18 pillars, the number has been reduced to 10 pillars for the ropeway, Karnataka Tourism Director KV Rajendra said.
As per the final project report, only one eucalyptus tree on forest land will be cut, and a tamarind tree will be pruned. There are no trees on the private land that is to be acquired. While environment clearance is awaited, work on land acquisition is under way. No blasting or drilling will be done at the site, and only pre-assembled pillars will be brought and installed at the site, Rajendra said.