13/09/2012 MUMBAI: (FILE PHOTO) The Mumbai Airport.
Photo: Paul Noronha

13/09/2012 MUMBAI: (FILE PHOTO) The Mumbai Airport. Photo: Paul Noronha

October 22, 2016 12:37 am | Updated 12:37 am IST

All Mumbai buildings may need AAI clearance

Mumbai: In a set back to Maharashtra’s ease of doing business plans, almost every building in Mumbai may have to now approach the Airport Authority of India (AAI) for height clearances. Stating reservations to the centre’s plan of allowing the local bodies to accord clearances on the basis of the newly developed colour-coded zonal maps (CCZM), a delegation led by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis recently suggested to the union civil aviation ministry “almost every case in Mumbai has to be referred to the Airport Authority of India (AAI)” despite the maps being in place.

Recently during a meeting at New Delhi to discuss the regulations related to the height restrictions of buildings in the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) and Wadala notified areas, municipal commissioner Ajoy Mehta pointed out that the possibility of issuing No Objection Certificate (NoC) as per the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) must also be examined. “Municipal Commissioner, corporation of Mumbai (BMC), stressed the need to complete such survey of the such buildings for Mumbai and expressed willingness to bear the cost,” a report of the meeting reads.

Senior MoCA (ministry of civil aviation) officials pointed out that it is only after a lot of efforts that the ministry has provided the colour coded maps so that the available height is known to the developers and they do not have to repeatedly approach the AAI. The preliminary report on the use of CCZM was submitted in September and final report is likely to submitted by the end of December to the MoCA.

The Union Government had decided to develop the CCZM to make easier construction of buildings around airports. The first phase saw development of maps for the Pune, Jamnagar, Chandigarh and Bagdogra airports. And the rest of the cities are being taken up in the second phase.

The meeting between the Civil Aviation Minister and Mr Fadnavis was to assess the progress being made so far towards easing out permission of construction around the airports. Maharashtra is already moving towards easing up the Works of Defence Act, 1903, in this regard by removing the three circulars that currently regulate construction activities near defence establishments. Maharashtra has also written to the centre requesting removal of the circulars since a legal opinion taken on the move has backed the same.

The Aviation Ministry has claimed that because of the formulation of CCZM, the height clearance applications have come down by 200 every month. This is likely to substantially reduce, once 12 of the major airport that account for 58% of such applications also go in for the maps.

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