By IANS,
Shimla : The Himachal Pradesh government Wednesday approved a ropeway project that would link a prominent Hindu shrine in the state with a historic Sikh temple town in Punjab.
The project has been hanging fire for over a decade.
Both states will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to undertake execution of the ropeway project to link Anandpur Sahib town in Punjab with the hill-top Naina Devi temple in Bilaspur district of Himachal Pradesh, a government spokesperson told IANS.
A cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal allowed the director of state tourism and civil aviation to execute the MoU with the Punjab government.
The project would be executed as a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) on build-operate-and-transfer (BOAT) basis by creating a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV).
The terms and conditions for executing the project were finalised June 15 at a meeting between Punjab Chief Secretary Rakesh Singh and his Himachal Pradesh counterpart Sudripta Roy.
The official spokesperson said the two states would be equal partners in the SPV.
The construction of the ropeway would ensure a comfortable journey for lakhs of pilgrims from Punjab who visit the temple of Naina Devi every year. It would also give a boost to tourism in both states.