Infrastructure
Sabarimala Ropeway Project Moves Ahead With Wildlife Board's Field Inspection Clearance
The Sabarimala temple. (Shankar/The India Today Group/Getty Images)
The long-pending Sabarimala ropeway project has taken a significant step forward after the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) cleared a field inspection.
The NBWL standing committee, acting on the State Wildlife Board’s recommendation, has constituted a high-level team to visit the proposed site soon, The New Indian Express reported.
A final decision is expected at the board’s meeting in October, which will also grant stage-one clearance from the forest department.
First mooted in 2011, the ropeway plan has faced repeated setbacks, mainly due to forest department concerns over large-scale tree felling and earth removal.
The Kerala government last year ordered the allocation of 4.5336 hectares of revenue land in Kulathupuzha, Kollam district, in exchange for the required forest land.
Estimated at Rs 250 crore, the project is being overseen by the Sabarimala High-Power Committee.
The ropeway will connect Pamba Hilltop to near the Sannidhanam police barracks, easing the transportation of essential supplies and emergency services to the hill shrine.
The 2.7 km ropeway will cut travel time between Pamba and Sannidhanam to about ten minutes. In a revised plan, the number of supporting pillars has been reduced from seven to five, while the number of trees slated for removal has come down sharply from 300 to 80.
