Summary:
This ambitious ropeway project has been hanging fire for the last six years.While the BJP government led by then chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with then Punjab chief minister Prakash Singh Badal, chief minister Virbhadra Singh had scrapped the project after taking over as the chief minister. SHIMLA: The proposed ropeway project connecting two important religious shrines of the region - Naina Devi in Himachal Pradesh and Anandpur Sahib in Punjab -- would be constructed on design, build, finance, operate and transfer pattern. The concession period of the proposal is kept at 40 years that does not include three years of the construction period.For the project, 70% land would be provided by the Himachal Pradesh government and 30% land by the Punjab government. Revenue earned would be distributed among both the states equally. A proposal to this effect was discussed and approved by the Himachal Pradesh cabinet on Wednesday.According to the proposal, the lower terminal point (LTP) of the ropeway would be at Rampur (Punjab) near Anandpur Sahib, intermediate terminal point (ITP) at Toba in Himachal Pradesh and upper terminal point (UTP) at Naina Devi in Himachal Pradesh.According to the proposal, both the state governments would form a joint venture special purpose vehicle (SPV) private limited company that would work as concessioning authority with registered office in Shimla..