American Thwarted in Quest to Build a Ski Resort in India

The following is an excerpt from an article in

The New York Times
Wednesday, August 22, 2012

American Thwarted in Quest to Build a Ski Resort in India

By VIKAS BAJAJ

MANALI, India — To John Sims, the Himalayas, with some of the finest mountain slopes in the world, seemed like the perfect place to build India’s first Western-style ski resort.

But he got his first clue about the uphill challenge he faced when the local gods — or at least the holy men who claimed to speak for them — came out against his project here.

In the seven years since, Mr. Sims, an American hotel developer with years of experience working in India, has encountered seemingly endless setbacks.

Some opponents claimed falsely that the 115-acre project would take over the entire valley. Others complained that the developers had underpaid landowners for their property. The state of Himachal Pradesh, which had once championed the $500 million proposal, moved to scrap it after a different political party took over. Now, a court has allowed it to go forward but has given the developers just six months to secure environmental permits from a government that has repeatedly stalled the project.

“My fundamental complaint is only this: Why did you invite us?” Mr. Sims said. “Why did you take our deposit? Why did you encourage us to spend money and then make a 180-degree turn?”

It is not easy for any company to do business in India, with its mercurial and ponderous decision-making, creaky court system and woeful infrastructure. Witness the immense blackouts of late July, in which the electric grids serving half of the country’s population collapsed under the strain of the hot summer and too few power plants. The World Bank ranks India 166th out of 183 economies in the ease of starting a business.

But the story of the Himalayan Ski Village shows the particular difficulties faced by foreign companies.

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