On Friday, July 29, the Bombay High Court (HC) directed the Mumbai suburban district collector to commence steps to remove the 48 structures that are allegedly coming in the way of the aircraft flying in and out of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) and are in violation of the Aircraft Obstacle Rules, reports mentioned.
Based on accounts, the structures entail unauthorised floors and water tanks of high-rise buildings, amongst other illegal structures that have come up on a hill close to the airport, coming in the way of approach surfaces of runaways. The directions were made by the HC after the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) filed an affidavit, highlighting that the district collector was responsible for removing obstacles such as buildings and trees that are in the path of the flight in accordance with the rules.
According to narratives, the division bench while asking the collector to adhere to the final orders of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). He also asked the collector to file an affidavit listing out measures that will be undertaken to raze the 48 structures by August 19. The matter will now be heard on August 22.
It has been reported that from the 48 mentioned obstacles, the majority of the structures have overhead water tanks that are over the permissible limit. These entail, the Airport Authority of India guest house, Vardhaman Puri, Shree Kunj and Govardhan buildings in Vile Parle (East), Harron Building and Farzaan Apartment in Kurla and Pushpanjali CHSL, Regal CHSL, Dheeraj Heritage, Sree Sai CHSL in Santacruz (West). The other entails staircase and water pump rooms, the light of a mosque in Kurla and the hoarding atop Kingfisher House in Vile Parle (East). Some of the other obstacles comprise unauthorised houses, huts, a mosque and a temple atop Jari Mari hill. Further, buildings violating the actual height restrictions are nearly eight.
Reports suggest that the list was submitted by the Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) to the HC in accordance with an obstacle survey done in 2010. The MIAL apprised the judiciary that it had furnished a list of 137 obstacles to the DGCA which then held a hearing and later passed a final order in 2017 for the demolition of 49 obstacles. The matter was then forwarded to the collector.
The senior advocate representing MIAL told the bench that the number of obstacles to be removed fell to 48 following compliance with the final order by the Vile Parle Mahila Sangh school. Earlier, the court asked the collector and the BMC to inform it about the steps to be taken for the removal of the obstacles.
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