States » EastPosted at: Oct 28 2026 11:10PM


Meghalaya Tourism files FIR against KHADC for trespassing into proposed Ropeway project site

Shillong, Oct 28 (UNI) The Meghalaya Tourism department has filed an FIR against the enforcement wing of the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) for allegedly
stalling the Rs 151 crore Shillong Peak Ropeway Project.

The FIR lodged by Director of Tourism Brenda Lee Pakyntein at Laban Police Station came a day after the KHADC, a constitutional body under sixth schedule of the Indian constitution, sealed the project site after the executing companies failed to secure a mandatory trading licence required for outside firms operating within the council's jurisdiction.

Pakyntein lodged the FIR on behalf of the Government of Meghalaya and the Meghalaya Ropeway Development Authority (MRDA), named Kordor Synrem, Inspector in the Enforcement Wing of the KHADC, and other unidentified enforcement personnel.

The Tourism official accused the enforcement inspector and other staff of the KHADC of trespassing into government-owned property and unauthorised seizure, and unlawful sealing of a vital state infrastructure project site. at Madan Laban,

Pakyntein said the KHADC officials entered the premises at about 10:30 am without prior notice, legal jurisdiction or statutory authority from the state government.

Describing the ropeway project as a high-priority public utility tourism project being executed directly under the authority of the state government, with the contract handled by the joint venture M/S KEC-TCL (JV), the Tourism official stressed that no construction or permanent structural
work was under way at the location, which it said serves only as a temporary operational base and camp set up by the contractor to organise project logistics.

In the FIR, Pakyntein alleges that the enforcement team took possession of the premises and forcibly evicted project personnel.

The enforcement wing drew up a “Seizure List” under the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (Trading by Non-Tribals) Regulation, 1954, and confiscated office property.

The items listed include four Godrej units, 11 chairs, eight tables, desktop computers, a Xerox machine, CCTV equipment, a DG set and ropeway equipment imported from Poma, France.

The KHADC also put physical locks and cloth seals on the doors of the site office, barring the executing agency from its own camp, Pakyntein stated in the FIR, adding that the contractor’s site managers, Jai Prakash Singh and Tarkeshwar Singh, were coerced into signing forced undertakings, or Zima-namas.

“Invoking Sections 3 and 7A of the 1954 Regulation against a state-sanctioned public project camp was a gross misuse of administrative power, since setting up a camp for public utility works does not amount to “trading” or retail business by a non-tribal entity,” Pakyntein argued.

“Locking and sealing the premises, the accused have wilfully obstructed public servants and state-authorized contractors from executing an official, approved infrastructure development plan aimed
at public welfare,” the Tourism official said.
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Tags: #Meghalaya Tourism files FIR against KHADC for trespassing into proposed Ropeway project site
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