The Bombay High Court this week came down heavy on authorities over the presence of concrete obstacles like buildings and other structures in dangerous violation of height norms near the Mumbai airport.
The court pulled up the Mumbai Suburban District Collector while hearing a Public Interest Litigation filed by an advocate over the dangers posed by the high-rises near the airport.
As the court posts the next hearing for August 22, News18 dives into the safety issue.
The Violations and Its Dangers
The issue has reached the courts following a PIL filed by advocate Yashwant Shenoy, who claimed to have done extensive work on aviation safety. Shenoy told the court that both the Aerodrome Operator and the DGCA had filed affidavits stating there are over 400 obstacles in the approach area of the airport, which is a zero-obstacle zone.
According to the petition, violation of height norms directly endangers thousands of people in the vicinity of the Mumbai airport. “Any aircraft impacting any of these illegal structures can cause a catastrophe and the Ghatkopar crash is just a reminder as to how things could go wrong and how it could impact our lives.”
On June 28, 2018, a King Air C-90 charter aircraft had crashed into a construction site during a test flight in the eastern suburb of Ghatkopar. Four people on board the aircraft — two pilots and two aircraft maintenance engineers, as well as a bystander — were killed.
What the Rules Say
According to the petition, the Aircraft (Demolition of obstructions caused by Buildings and Trees etc) Rules, 1994 require the demolition of obstacles to ensure aviation safety.
Seeking strict compliance to the rule, the petition added: “In addition, it is the duty of the Aerodrome Operator to do a periodic ‘obstacle’ survey. In addition to the approach area, the 20 km radius of an airport is a restricted zone and the Aerodrome Operator has to do a survey and is duty-bound to remove all obstacles in accordance with the rules.”
The Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) has informed the High Court that according to a survey carried out in 2010, the Mumbai airport is surrounded by a total of 137 obstacles in the form of building extensions and other structures.
Out of these 137 buildings, final orders have been passed in 63 cases. Of these, appeals have been filed in nine cases and six buildings have complied. The remaining 48 structures need to be demolished immediately since there is no compliance or appeal filed.
Action Ordered
The High Court has now ordered the Mumbai Suburban District Collector to explain how he proposes to initiate the demolition of these 48 remaining structures. A division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice MS Karnik also pulled up the collector for trying to shift the responsibility of demolition to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The judges noted that there is no law that prevents the Collector from initiating demolition process.
The court said the BMC and police shall render assistance to the Collector for demolition. It also suggested the authorities to disconnect electricity and water supply to the buildings that have been issued notice for height violation.
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