Will raze eight structures near Mumbai airport that flout height norms in a month: Collector tells HC

A division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice M S Karnik on July 29 had directed the Mumbai suburban collector to take steps to remove 48 structures.

The high court had asked the collector to comply with the final orders of the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) regarding the same. It held that the collector is responsible for not taking steps to demolish any such unauthorised structure and asked it to file an affidavit by August 19, listing steps that will be taken to remove the 48 structures.

The court passed an order while hearing a public-interest petition filed by advocate Yeshwanth Shenoy in 2019 which stated that the structures around Mumbai airport posed a threat to the take-off and landing of flights.

As per an affidavit filed by The Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL), of the 48 obstructions, most buildings have overhead water tanks that are above the permissible height range. It added that some buildings have obstacles, including staircases and water pump rooms located above the permissible height range. The other structures are unauthorised houses, huts, a mosque and a temple atop the Jati Mari Hill and eight buildings having additional floor/s.

In the affidavit filed in the high court, Mumbai suburban district collector Nidhi Choudhari enlisted the status of unauthorised structures and said that of the 48 structures, the collector’s office was facing difficulty in ascertaining the specific details regarding 15 structures and action could not be taken against them due to the same. She stated that while eight structures would be demolished in a month, 22 structures have already been removed and the process to identify the remaining three structures is still on. The high court will hear the plea in due course.