Limbu locals stage protest against the project. Image courtesy of Mukkumlung Protection and Struggle Committee.

• Nepal’s Pathibhara cable car project faces increased backlash after its environmental assessment was found to omit key species and understate its forest impact, bypassing the need for a full environmental impact assessment.
• The project, in a sacred site for Indigenous Yakthung (Limbu) communities, threatens biodiversity and spiritual heritage, with critics alleging more than 40,000 trees may have been cut, far exceeding the figures stated in the assessment report.
• Protests over the development have turned violent, and Nepal’s Supreme Court has ordered a halt to construction pending a review of alleged regulatory violations and community exclusion.
• While developers and some local officials argue the project boosts tourism and access, conservationists and many Indigenous residents continue to call for its cancellation and a full ecological audit.  

KATHMANDU — The environmental impact assessment for a controversial cable car project in an area of Nepal held sacred by Indigenous communities has been found to be riddled with errors — ranging from omission of key species to exploitation of loopholes to evade extensive evaluations.

The surfacing of the error-strewn initial environmental examination (IEE) for the 3 billion rupee ($22 million) project in Mukkumlung (Pathibhara) in eastern Nepal, which the government has already approved, has increased calls from some Indigenous Yakthung (Limbu) communities and conservationists to safeguard the area’s biodiversity and take action against regulatory violations.

A key concern with the IEE report is that “of the 112 tree species found in the area, only four have been identified by the report,” said Kamal Maden, a botanist and activist who provided a copy of the IEE report to Mongabay.

The cable car line is being built to serve the mountaintop temple of Pathibhara Devi, a popular pilgrimage destination for Nepali Hindus. But the area is also revered by the Indigenous Limbu, many of whom have objected to the planned clearing of trees that they say will weaken the spiritual power that the site holds according to their beliefs. Project developer Pathibhara Devi Darshan Cable Car Pvt. Ltd., part of the IME Group led by prominent tycoon Chandra Prasad Dhakal, and its supporters say the project will boost tourism, create jobs, and provide better access for pilgrims who currently have to undertake a strenuous high-altitude trek to the temple.

Among these supporters are some locals, though the majority of the area’s Limbu people have denounced the project as an “amusement park” that disrespects their sacred landscape. They say hundreds of small businesses serving pilgrims on the trail to the temple could be forced to close, with the company profiting while locals bear the irreversible environmental costs.

According to Nepal’s Environment Protection Regulations 2020, an initial environmental examination is required for medium-scale projects, while a full-fledged environmental impact assessment (EIA) is mandatory for projects occupying more than 5 hectares (12 acres) of land.

The IEE conducted for the Pathibhara project states that the cable car line would occupy 6.22 hectares (15.36 acres) of community and government forest. But the government only allocated 4.97 hectares (12.28 acres) to the developer. Given the actual land requirement, the project should have undergone an EIA, not an IEE, Maden said.

In January, protests turned violent as police clashed with protesters; at least five community members sustained gunshot wounds, while 41 were detained and 15 charges were pressed against 15.

Mongabay also found contradictions within the report regarding the number of trees that would need to be cut. While the summary of the report puts the number at around 112 during construction, the report itself details an additional 10,119 seedlings, saplings and pole-sized trees to be removed.

The controversy began in 2018 when the government approved a proposal by the developer to build and operate a cable car facility in Mukkumlung, referred to as the goddess Pathibhara by Nepal’s majority Hindus. The temple sits at an altitude of 3,794 meters (12,448 feet) in eastern Nepal. Nepal’s Supreme Court, which in recent years has turned into a battleground for environmental conservation, is now reviewing the case, and has ordered a halt to construction work until further notice.

A botanist at Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu, who spoke to Mongabay on condition of anonymity due to fear of retribution, said the report lacks accurate details on legally protected plant species in the area, including the endangered Himalayan yew (Taxus wallichiana), whose extract is used in cancer treatment drugs. However, these trees have been indiscriminately cut, according to Maden, who visited the project site recently.

The report states that the project area includes some threatened and slow-growing, high-value species such as Himalayan birch (Betula utilis), kutki (Neopicrorhiza scrophulariiflora), marsh orchid (Dactylorhiza hatagirea), and nontimber forest products such as chirata (Swertia chirayita), magnolia (Magnolia doltsopa) and painted begonia (Begonia picta).

Contrary to the number of trees mentioned in the report, the project is suspected to have removed thousands of trees, although a study has yet to be done. Shree Lingkhim, coordinator of the Mukkumlung Protection and Struggle Committee, said more than 40,000 trees may have already been cut down.

Ramesh Prasad Bhatt, an EIA expert and executive director at the Institute of Ecology and Environment, also said the IEE report has some shortcomings, especially related to the felling and restoration of trees.

“The report should have rather clearly provided details to compensate for the trees to be cut in the project area, and mention the number of plants to be planted in compensation for using the forest land for the project activity,” he said.

Officials at the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, which approved the IEE report, declined to comment when Mongabay contacted them for a response to the issue. Ministry spokesperson Bhimarjun Adhikari and information officer Subha Shrestha told Mongabay the ministry doesn’t have a copy of the report, and therefore can’t comment on it.

A spokesperson for IME Group told Mongabay that he couldn’t speak about it, citing the ongoing Supreme Court review.

Although community members such as Lingkhim say the project should be cancelled outright as the IEE is deeply flawed, others disagree. Amir Maden chair of Phungling municipality where the project site is located, told Mongabay the project was approved according to due process and with the local people’s consent.

Emphasizing the need to cater to the tourists and pilgrims who visit the temple from across Nepal and abroad, he said developing the site will not only improve access for elderly and ailing pilgrims but also benefit local residents and businesses.

This story by Sonam Lama Hyolmo was first published in Mongabay on 5 May 2025