The Delhi High Court on Tuesday told the Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), which runs the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) here, to give a list of obstacles around the aviation hub that may pose a threat to aircraft safety.
A Bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C. Hari Shankar gave the direction after DIAL said there are 365 obstacles around the aviation hub.
Permission for runway
The court asked aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) how it had granted permission for a runway at the IGIA despite the obstacles around it.
The court also made the Delhi government a party to the plea, as the District Collector is the authority who will ensure demolition of obstacles on receipt of information from the DGCA.
The court was hearing a plea by lawyer Yashwanth Shenoy, who said that Aerocity, which has several high-rise hotels near the international airport, was a major threat to security and safety of aircraft flying over it.
Safety issue
He said it was easy for a terrorist to bring down a plane from these hotels as they do not have bulletproof windows, a requirement for being allowed to come up there, besides insufficient security personnel at these establishments.
The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, in its affidavit, said that hotels at Aerocity were required to have bulletproof windows. It has also said that these hotels have their own security mechanism to prevent any untoward incident.
Non-compliance
Mr. Shenoy claimed that the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, the Central Industrial Security Force and the police have not taken airport security seriously. He said these establishments have been operating in spite of non-compliance with conditions imposed on buildings around the airport.
