‘Project has no environment clearance’

The petitioner,Advocate Navdeep Singh Bitta,had pleaded that Aerocity is coming up in the vicinity of the international airport. “Aircraft burn a lot of fuel; and the Aerocity being very close to the airport, this aspect needs to be given due consideration. Especially when thousands of people would live in the 4,000 residential plots that are likely to be allotted. We came to know from newspapers that no clearance has been obtained from the MoEF for the said project. In case the plots are developed without MoEF clearance,the public at large may suffer severely,” the petition said.

“The recent aircrash in Mangalore and mid-air collision over Charkhidadri a few years ago deserve to be assessed. Also,if there is an emergency landing in the event of fire or technical fault,tragedy might befall the Aerocity. These situations need to be considered,” the petitioner said.

Another cause of concern,the petitioner says,is the fact that there would be garbage dumps or a waste disposal system in the Aerocity. This might attract scavenger birds — a serious safety hazard for aircraft.

GMADA Additional Chief Administrator Balwinder Singh Multani said,“Environmental clearance has to be procured before handing over possession of plots,for which we have given 30 months’ time.” However,sources in GMADA revealed that initially,the authority had applied for environmental clearance to the MoEF,which had referred it to its State Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC). “We are now waiting for the terms of reference to be issued by SEAC for conducting the mandatory environment impact assessment study before getting clearance,” Multani said.