Punjab Cabinet okays Anandpur Sahib-Naina Devi ropeway project

The Punjab Cabinet led by Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has given approval for setting up a Ropeway between Sri Anandpur Sahib and Naina Devi ji in Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode to further promote tourism in the state.

Facts :

• The ropeway would facilitate lakhs of devotees visiting these two historic and religious sites of Sri Anandpur Sahib and Naina Devi Ji in a smooth and hassle-free manner.
• Sri Anandpur Sahib in Punjab and Naina Devi ji in Himachal Pradesh were famous pilgrim destinations visited by devotees from across the globe.
• The two shrines were located quite far from each other, with hilly terrain compounding the problems of the devotees.
• The Punjab Government, with the consent of Himachal Pradesh, had thus decided to set up the Ropeway project to ease the travel of visitors.
• It is proposed to carry out this project in PPP mode by setting up a Special Purpose Vehicle.
• The total paid up equity of SPV will be Rs.1 crore, with Rs. 50 lakhs each as share of the two states.
• As per the MoU, both states will have equal share in the revenue, with concession period of 40 years.
• In the initial 7 years, no concession fee would be paid by the concessionaire and a time period of 3 years would be given to set up this project.

Background :

• A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Governments of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to set up the Ropeway between Sri Anandpur Sahib and Naina Devi ji on July 26, 2012.
• The Punjab Tourism Department had acquired 108 Kanal 13 Marla land for setting up a lower terminal and right of way within the Punjab territory for this purpose.
• However, the MoU was cancelled by the Himachal Pradesh Government on June 3, 2014.
• In February, 2018, a letter from Chief Minister Himachal Pradesh was received to revive the project, following which Captain Amarinder Singh conveyed his consent to Himachal Pradesh.
• Subsequently, the Punjab Tourism Department received the approved MoU from the Government of Himachal Pradesh on September 5, 2018.

Analysis :

• Once the project gets started, the ropeway would prove to be a milestone in not only boosting tourism sector in both Punjab and Himachal Pradesh but would also be an epitome of strengthening the Hindu-Sikh bond.
• A new memorandum of understanding would be inked this month, which would accelerate the pace of the project. The project is estimated to cost Rs 200 crore and would cover a distance of 3.5 km.
• The safety of pilgrims would be given top priority and keeping in view this aspect, services of a top notch company would be hired.
   

By: Harman Sandhu