Bombay High Court on Monday asked the petitioner in a Public interest Litigation (PIL) to say in clear terms how the decision taken by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to relax the height restrictions from 55.1 metres to 160 metres in the vicinity of the proposed Navi Mumbai International Airport was illegal and in violation of the law.
The bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice MS Karnik noted that while the petitioner Yashwant Shenoy had made oral arguments that the decision of the AAI was not correct, it failed to provide proof on paper that the authorities violated any statutory provisions.
The court also observed that the Navi Mumbai airport was a greenfield project but buildings have already come up around the airport. “What is striking is that the airport is yet to come but buildings are coming up first. Ideally, the airport should come first and then buildings,” said Chief Justice Datta.
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“Even before the airport has come up you (authorities) want to have all the construction done. If you make it so tight, doesn’t it raise concerns? Development is needed but not at the risk of people,” Justice Karnik remarked.
The AAI, on the other hand, told the court that it received 123 applications recently seeking a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for construction of buildings above 55.1 metres. Advocate Ajay Khaire appearing for AAI said, “There are 123 applications received out of which 104 have been granted while 19 are pending.”
Khaire handed an affidavit to the court which said that under Article 51e of the Airport Act, 2015, construction of buildings above 55.1 metres within a 20 kilometres radius of an airport is permitted. It was at this that the bench asked Shenoy to indicate if this decision was illegal.
“Why is this decision bad in law, illegal and ought to be quashed? Tell us that. Is this relaxation of height restrictions a violation of the statutory provisions?” the court asked while seeking a “better affidavit” stating why the AAI’s decision is illegal. Shenoy has to reply by September 12 while the court has posted the matter for further hearing on September 29.
Shenoy had earlier argued that the authorities decided to lift the height restrictions for buildings in the vicinity of the proposed Navi Mumbai International Airport from 55.1 metres up to 160 metres.
Source: https://www.indiatoday.in/law/story/bombay-high-court-decide-legality-of-airport-authority-order-to-relax-norm-on-height-of-buildings-1994165-2022-08-30
