Sunday, July 16, 2017

Mumbai residents near airport to be left homeless if Directorate General of Civil Aviation has its way

Imagine some government authority asking you to reduce the height of your house because of airplane obstacle. For the new buildings it's still justified, but what about those which were constructed before the airport! That's exactly what's happening in Mumbai right now.

The Bombay High Court in an order had asked DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) about the obstacles near the airport, which is creating horrible air traffic. The DGCA has, accordingly, listed 70 buildings around Vile Parle, Santacruz and Ghatkopar to reduce their heights within 60 days of the order.

If the airplane noise weren't enough to keep the residents depressed regularly, the new order has certainly affected them. Most residents who are senior citizens and living since the 70s have found themselves in a fix.

A resident who spoke to The Economic Times said, "I've been staying here from 1967. Why is it that they have suddenly found my building to be an obstacle?"

"Where can we go? Is it possible for us to buy a new flat at our age? Can our old buildings withstand demolition by 3m to 6m? If they collapse after demolition who will bear the responsibility?" asked a senior citizen to the news reporter.

The new buildings in the area are taller and it won't be easy to reduce the height. Moreover people residing in these areas are often with one property and have nowhere else to go. At this juncture, demolition of buildings would raise moral questions as well.

The residents who are protesting against government's move said, there are flaws in DGCA's order. According to them they haven't received any communication for last 30 years and many of the smaller houses have NOCs from the then authority. Now suddenly the order to demolish heights of buildings in two months would create a lot of fuss.

http://www.businessinsider.in

No comments:

Post a Comment