A proposed road project linking Shimla with Kaza in cold deserts of Lahaul and Spiti, which would shortened the distance by about 100 km, has been delayed as the Ministry of Environment and Forest is yet to give a clearance, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said today.
"The construction of the proposed road has been delayed as mandatory forest clearance under Forest Conservation Act has not been obtained," he told the Assembly in a written reply.
"The construction has also been delayed as some patches of the road would pass through a wild life sanctuary and forest land and at some places private land owners are reluctant to give their lands for construction of the road," he added.
The picturesque Spiti Valley, about 410 km from Shimla, is a sanctum-sanctorum of ancient Buddhist monasteries.
