13.79-km Shimla ropeway approved: Himachal Pradesh deputy CM

Shimla: Himachal Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Mukhes Agnihotri on Saturday said the final approval has been granted for a 13.79-km ropeway project in Shimla, terming it a step towards turning the state into a tourism hub like Switzerland.

The project to be built at Rs 1,734.70 crore will take four years to complete, he said, according to a statement.

Agnihotri said the Shimla ropeway, as others like it, will help reduce traffic congestion, cut greenhouse gas emissions, and will be modern, eco-friendly mode of transport.

The ropeway will have three lines, 14 sections and 13 stations, linking the state Secretariat, hospitals, schools, the railway station, and the main bus stand in the state capital.

Agnihotri said that under the Smart City Project, 19 infrastructure projects worth Rs 50 crore and three more projects worth Rs 25 crore would be built in Shimla by next December.

Other ropeways under construction in the state, he said, were the Rs 65-crore Baba Balaknath temple ropeway, the Rs 278.62-crore Bijli Mahadev ropeway, and the Rs 76.50-crore Mata Chintpurni Temple ropeway.

All these projects have been envisaged to be built by June 2027.

The country's first rural ropeway, the Baglamukhi ropeway, was inaugurated in December 2024.

The ropeway, built for Rs 53.89 crore, caters to 69,000 passengers and presents itself as a lifeline for locals and relief operations during disasters.

Agnihotri said the work on the 1.20-km Dhalpur to Peej ropeway in Kullu was apace.

This Rs 80-crore project is expected to be completed by June 2027.

He said the state government has plans to connect Shimla to Parwanoo through a 38-km ropeway. The public-private partnership project will cost Rs 5,602.56 crore.