Jammu, February 10, 2026: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday categorically stated that the ropeway project for the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi shrine was approved by the Lieutenant Governor in September 2024 and not by the Cabinet or the Administrative Council.
Setting the record straight in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, the Chief Minister said he had personally examined the official records related to the project.
“One member claimed that the Cabinet had approved the ropeway project. I checked the records and found that it was neither approved by the Cabinet nor by the Administrative Council,” Abdullah told the House.
Clarifying the sequence of events, he said the project received approval from the Lieutenant Governor before the formation of the elected government. “The approval was granted by the Lieutenant Governor in September 2024, prior to the coming into power of the present government,” he said.
The Chief Minister asserted that misleading information was being circulated inside and outside the House on the issue. Referring to the emotional exchange in the Assembly a day earlier, Abdullah said a member had even threatened to resign based on incorrect assumptions.
His statement follows claims made by BJP MLA from the Mata Vaishno Devi constituency, Baldev Raj Sharma, who had asserted in the Assembly that the Cabinet had approved the ropeway project and had threatened to resign if his claim was proven wrong.
