Vertical lift from Peerkho to Mubarak Mandi
*NHLML’s expert opinion pending despite reminders
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Nov 1: Despite securing all clearances, technical vetting and administrative approvals, the ambitious vertical lift from Peerkho to Mubarak Mandi has failed to take off even after three years of planning and multiple tendering attempts.
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At present, the project continues to drift without direction and its future now hinging on expert opinion from the National Highways Logistics Management Limited (NHLML), which otherwise is also pending even after repeated reminders.
According to official sources, Jammu and Kashmir Cable Car Corporation first invited e-tenders (E-NIT No. 04 of 2022) for consultancy services to prepare the Detailed Project Report (DPR) and allied works. However, no bids were received.
A subsequent engagement with M/s Feedback Infra Pvt Ltd also collapsed without any tangible progress exposing the Corporation’s inability to generate confidence among reputed firms. Only after a fresh tender (E-NIT No. 60 of 2022) was floated did M/s Almondz Global Infra-Consultant Ltd finally come on board as the Project Management Consultant (PMC) for DPR formulation. But even this limited success was followed by another maze of delays, revisions and approvals.
During DPR preparation, the Archaeology, Archives & Museums Department raised serious concerns about the project’s proximity to a heritage site and the fragile hill stability. Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Jammu was roped in for design vetting and soil analysis, which led to modifications being incorporated.
The revised DPR, vetted by the Development Commissioner (Works), received Administrative Approval on March 2, 2023, and was formally cleared by the Board of Jammu and Kashmir Cable Car Corporation in its 33rd meeting held on June 19, 2023 at a projected cost of Rs 27 crore.
However, all this procedural progress ended on paper. The Corporation floated two tenders for execution–E-NIT No. 39 of 2023 (October 25, 2023) and E-NIT No. 14 of 2024 (July 31, 2024) but neither received a single bid, despite extensions.
“This unprecedented disinterest from potential bidders raises serious questions about the project’s feasibility, design, cost estimates”, sources said.
In a high-level review on February 19, 2025, the Chief Secretary took note of the repeated failures and directed Cable Car Corporation to consult the National Highways Logistics Management Limited (NHLML) for expert assessment of the project’s viability and the reasons behind the lack of response.
The J&K Cable Car Corporation wrote to National Highway Logistics Management Limited on February 20, April 4 and April 30, 2025, followed by a meeting in New Delhi, yet no formal feedback has been received till date. A fresh communication letter No. CCC/3/2025/2463-65 dated October 10, 2025 has also gone unanswered.
Meanwhile, the Corporation floated a third tender (E-NIT No. 09 of 2025 dated February 28, 2025) with a submission deadline of June 30, 2025, but there too, the fate remains uncertain as the fundamental issues delaying the project remain unaddressed.
“Despite three years of procedural activity, repeated tenders, expert consultations and board approvals, the project remains stuck at square one— a telling commentary on how uncertainty, poor planning and lack of bidder confidence continue to stall infrastructure initiatives in Jammu and Kashmir”, sources said.
Meanwhile, there is no proposal for declaring Old Jammu City as a Heritage City although the issue was raised in the Legislative Assembly a number of times.
“The authority to declare a World Heritage City lies with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). According to the UNESCO Operational Guideines, 2024, any city to be designated as a World Heritage City must fulfill one or more of the Cultural Criteria”, the Government has claimed.
“The city must represent a masterpiece of human creative genius; exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, in developments related to architecture, technology, monumental arts, town planning, or landscape design; bear a unique or exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization which is living or has disappeared; be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble, or landscape that illustrates a significant stage in human history etc”, the Government said, adding “Old Jammu city doesn’t meet this criteria”.
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