Airport nod for tall bldgs can be granted locally

Mumbai: Apart from increasing the permissible maximum height limit for structures around the airport, the Union civil aviation ministry has also decentralised the process of obtaining a no-objection certificate (NOC) for them.
The two-member committee, comprising former director general of civil aviation Kanu Gohain and former Airports Authority of India (AAI) member A K Mishra, had recommended that the sanction be given from regional offices and not the AAI headquarters in Delhi. Hence, all NOC applications for buildings will now be processed within the city itself. However, an aeronautical study will still be mandatory before sanctioning a height of 150 metres or more.
TOI had reported on Friday that the ministry and AAI have hiked the permissible maximum height of structures within a 20 km radius of the airport from 150 metres to 300 metres.
"Now all applications will be sanctioned at the local AAI office. This will reduce the time that lapses between making the application and getting it sanctioned or rejected,'' an official said.
Sources said that the decision was taken considering the huge backlog of applications piling up at the AAI headquarters in Delhi. Pressure by the applicants and the long time for clearance made it necessary that the sanction-granting authority be given to regional headquarters.
Earlier, an application for an NOC had to be made at the local AAI office, which verified its credentials and forwarded it to the regional headquarters.
27/07/09 Chinmayi Shalya/Times of India

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Categories: Airports Jul 2009