HC asks DGCA to axe 45 buildings near city’s airport

A petition highlighted violation of height norms by developers near CST

Observing that the rise in the buildings constructed in violation can pose a threat for city’s airports, especially during the rainy season, Bombay High Court on Tuesday directed Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to demolish or reduce the height of 45 buildings.

A Division Bench presided over by Justice Vidyasagar Kanade and Justice Mahesh Sonak heard a petition filed by advocate Yeshwant Shenoy. The petition highlights the flagrant violation of height norms by developers near the city’s airports.

Senior counsel Rajiv Chavan appearing for DGCA informed the Bench that the authority had initiated action against 137 structures, of which 45 breached the No Objection Certificate (NOC)

issued by Airport Authorities of India (AAI).

After hearing the submissions, Justice Kanade said, “We direct DGCA, Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) and other authorities to forthwith take action against these structures within a period of three months.”

He added, “We find that in almost all the 45 cases the developers or societies have breached the NOC provided by the AAI for constructing their buildings. It is obvious that these developers or societies have constructed additional structures without considering the NOC of AAI and the same needs to be corrected immediately.”

The Bench also expressed its satisfaction over the action initiated by AAI and DGCA against such buildings.

The Bench also said that it agreed with Shenoy’s contention that these buildings pose a serious threat to flights. Justice Kanade also remarked that due to heavy rains there was no visibility at international airport and several flights were diverted to Pune, Ahmedabad and to other cities.