HC Orders 48 buildings near Mumbai Airport to be demolished

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.

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.

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.