DGCA to Evaluate Wildlife Threats Near Navi Mumbai Airport Amid Growing Concerns Over Illegal Slaughter Near Runway

The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will assess the wildlife activity, including bird-strike threats, around Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) before issuing the aerodrome license, an official said amid concerns over illegal slaughter close to the runway. This assurance came in response to repeated complaints raised by NatConnect Foundation over the unchecked illegal slaughter at Ulwe in Navi Mumbai, barely within three km radius of the NMIA runway in violation of the DGCA ban on such activity within 10 km radius. In fact, this DGCA norm is a prominent part of the Government Resolution (GR) issued by the Maharashtra Government while appointing the Aerodrome Environment Management Committee (AEMC) for the NMIA, NatConnect pointed out.

“DGCA assurances apart, our concern is for the safety of the aircraft, passengers and crew as bird strikes can be disastrous,” said NatConnect director B N Kumar. Navi Mumbai airport is scheduled to be operational on September 30 as per the latest government announcement. City planner CIDCO, which heads the AEMC, administers the Ulwe node where the illegal slaughter and sale of mutton is openly flourishing with the authorities failing to take any action. “We have not seen any action from CIDCO which takes pride in building Navi Mumbai as the City of the 21st Century,” said Santosh Kate, president of Ulwe city NCP (Ajit Pawar) who has complained to various government officials. NatConnect director Kumar has posted on the PMO public grievance website that the slaughter, sale and piling up of animal waste could attract large birds such as kites whose erratic flight could clash with the aircraft landing and taking off.

Meanwhile, Soorraj Saha, a member of the Bombay High Court appointed Animal Welfare Act Monitoring Committee has pointed out to the Navi Mumbai police commissioner that these shops are proliferating in blatant violation of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, Municipal Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, and the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. He said he has verified the complaints personally on the ground and found them to be valid. Despite an earlier advise issued to NMIA by the DGCA, no action has been taken against the slaughter, Kumar said in fresh complaint in the light of an Indigo aircraft suffering a bird strike near Ranchi. DGCA director Amit Gupta in his response informed Kumar that Kumar’s grievance has been examined. Navi Mumbai International Airport is not yet licensed and no aircraft operation is going on.

However, as per regulation, action by aerodrome operator is in progress to control the wildlife activities around Navi Mumbai International Airport, Gupta said. “The effectiveness of established procedure is to be assessed during process of issuing aerodrome license,” Gupta explained. Per DGCA website, the issuing aerodrome license is a three-month process from the date of filing the application. Recently, the Aeronautical Information Service (AIS), managed by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), has issued a NOTAM -Notice To Airmen - list pertaining to lack of operational readiness of Navi Mumbai International Airport. But, the issue pertaining to the illegal slaughter within the 3 km radius is missing from the NOTAM list which mentioned the absence of landing and take-off routes and presence of 225 obstacles including 86 buildings, 79 hilltops, 23 power transmission towers, 12 mobile towers, and eight floodlight poles. Kumar has, therefore, raised the slaughter issue with the General Manager of AIS who responded that the matter has been referred to the “concerned authorities at NMIAL”.