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Delhi High Court seeks govt response to petition on preventing bird-aircraft strikes at IGI Airport

The PIL petition says that in 2018-2023, 705 bird strike incidents took place at IGI Airport, outnumbering combined bird strike incidents reported across 29 airports in six states.

IGI airport, bird aircraft strike, delhi hc, indian expressDelhi High Court issues notices on a PIL petition seeking measures to prevent bird-aircraft strikes at New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport.. (Source: Express Archives)

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notices on a PIL petition seeking a direction for government authorities to take immediate measures to prevent and reduce bird-aircraft strikes and to implement a bird avoidance model at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport.

A division bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela sought responses from the Centre through the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Airports Authority of India, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, Delhi government and its municipal corporation, Delhi Pollution Control Committee, Delhi Development Authority and Delhi Police.

The bench also added that the authorities in their reply must indicate the steps taken to implement relevant rules and state whether regular inspections are being conducted. “Let replies be filed by all the respondents not only on para-wise reply to the petition but also details of the steps taken in respect of the concerns raised in the writ petition,” the bench said while listing the matter for May 14.

The PIL petition filed by animal welfare activist Gauri Maulekhi has highlighted that between 2018 and 2023, the total number of bird strikes at IGI Airport stood at 705, outnumbering combined bird strike incidents reported across 29 airports in six states. While bird strike events numbered around 100 from 2018 until 2021, the events saw a significant spike from 2022 onwards, when 183 such events were reported, followed by 169 more such events reported between January and October 2023.

According to Maulekhi, the primary reason for the occurrence of such incidents is the “presence of slaughterhouses/meat shops/dairy farms and environmental pollution around the IGI Airport”, the operation of which is otherwise contrary to various statutes.

The Aircraft Rules 1937 and the Bharatiya Vayuyan Vidheyak 2024 prohibit slaughtering or flaying of animals or disposal of any garbage related thereto, which is likely to attract birds or animals, within a radius of 10 km from the aerodrome reference point, Maulekhi highlighted.

Maulekhi is also seeking closure of illegal slaughterhouses, meat shop clusters and other prohibited establishments within a 10-km radius of the aerodrome point of IGI Airport.

Sohini Ghosh is a Senior Correspondent at The Indian Express. Previously based in Ahmedabad covering Gujarat, she recently moved to the New Delhi bureau, where she primarily covers legal developments at the Delhi High Court Professional Profile Background: An alumna of the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), she previously worked with ET NOW before joining The Indian Express. Core Beats: Her reporting is currently centered on the Delhi High Court, with a focus on high-profile constitutional disputes, disputes over intellectual property, criminal and civil cases, issues of human rights and regulatory law (especially in the areas of technology and healthcare). Earlier Specialty: In Gujarat, she was known for her rigorous coverage in the beats of crime, law and policy, and social justice issues, including the 2002 riot cases, 2008 serial bomb blast case, 2016 flogging of Dalits in Una, among others. She has extensively covered health in the state, including being part of the team that revealed the segregation of wards at the state’s largest government hospital on lines of faith in April 2020. With Ahmedabad being a UNESCO heritage city, she has widely covered urban development and heritage issues, including the redevelopment of the Sabarmati Ashram Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) Her recent reporting from the Delhi High Court covers major political, constitutional, corporate, and public-interest legal battles: High-Profile Case Coverage She has extensively covered the various legal battles - including for compensation under the aegis of North East Delhi Riots Claims Commission - pertaining to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, as well as 1984 anti-Sikh riots. She has also led coverage at the intersection of technology and governance, and its impact on the citizenry, from, and beyond courtrooms — such as the government’s stakeholder consultations for framing AI-Deepfake policy. Signature Style Sohini is recognized for her sustained reporting from courtrooms and beyond. She specialises in breaking down dense legal arguments to make legalese accessible for readers. Her transition from Gujarat to Delhi has seen her expand her coverage on regulatory, corporate and intellectual property law, while maintaining a strong commitment to human rights and lacuna in the criminal justice system. X (Twitter): @thanda_ghosh ... Read More

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