The recent plane crash in Ahmedabad has once again raised alarms among the Kolkata airport authorities regarding unauthorized structures in high-rise buildings, which they consider a threat to flights arriving and departing from the city. Their attention has shifted to a high-rise complex located at Bablatala, directly adjacent to the airport wall, where they assert that the top two floors of the five towers present a risk.
Airport officials reported that they have issued seven notices to the Loharuka Green Complex, urging the management to dismantle the two upper floors as soon as possible. These floors, which include lift rooms and water tanks, are deemed potential hazards within the take-off funnel.
Residents of the complex, which comprises 102 2 BHK and 3 BHK apartments across five towers, contend that the developers have consistently provided documentation to the airport authorities, demonstrating that none of the floors are illegal. “The upper floors were sold at a premium due to their views of the airport and the aircraft landing and taking off. Why should we suddenly be required to demolish them? They are all legal.
We approached the High Court last month for protection and clarification,” stated Dhrubajyoti Biswas, president of the Loharuka Greens Residents’ Welfare Association. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) last issued a notice to the Loharuka Green Residency Association of Apartment Owners in January, indicating that a building had been constructed 357 meters from its original location, for which the airport had granted a No Objection Certificate (NOC) in March 2014.
The Airports Authority of India, NSCBI Airport Kolkata, has identified a structure (the top of the building) that is intruding into the Obstacle Limitation Surface/Obstacle Free Zone and is in violation of the regulations set forth by the Ministry of Civil Aviation – (Height Restrictions for Safeguarding of Aircraft Operations) Rules, 2015, and poses a potential risk to safe aircraft operations, the order specifies. It recommended that the association lower the height of the “obstacle” from the top ā 10.7 meters for blocks A and B, 11.2 meters for blocks C and D, and 6.9 meters for Block E.
Residents indicated that prior to the commencement of construction, builders had sought height clearance from the AAI in 2013, and the No Objection Certificate (NOC) for the specific site was granted in March 2014 “with a permissible top elevation above mean sea level (AMSL) of 35.6 m, which includes 6 m above mean sea level, for a duration of five years.” “It was only after obtaining the NOC that the construction was finalized by June 2018. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) issued the Completion Certificate (CC) in November 2019.
The Co-ordinate Survey of India conducted an assessment and confirmed that our buildings do not interfere with the aircraft funnel path,” stated Biswas. “Our case in the High Court will be reviewed after the vacation.”] Residents mentioned that prior to the initiation of the project, an order from the High Court in December 2012 led to the demarcation of the area by the Special Land Acquisition Officer of North 24 Parganas in Barasat, in the presence of the AAI.
It was only after this demarcation and the issuance of a revised sanctioned plan along with other necessary documents that the AAI granted a height clearance NOC. “If our buildings pose a risk to safe aircraft operations, why was the NOC issued? This project comprises over 100 flats, all of which have been sold. The request to lower the height is not valid against the developer following the issuance of the CC. Let the court make a determination,” remarked an official.
