Navi Mumbai: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), in response to repeated complaints from city-based NGO NatConnect Foundation, has confirmed that regulatory action is currently underway by the aerodrome operator to manage wildlife activity in the area. DGCA Director Amit Gupta, responding to NatConnect’s grievance, clarified that the effectiveness of wildlife risk mitigation procedures will be assessed as part of the licensing process. As per DGCA norms, this process takes about three months from the date of application.
Despite the DGCA’s assurance, NatConnect Director B N Kumar reiterated concerns over illegal slaughterhouses operating within 3 km of the airport runway in Ulwe — a direct violation of the aviation authority’s 10 km no-slaughter zone rule. “DGCA assurances apart, our concern is for the safety of the aircraft, passengers, and crew, as bird strikes can be disastrous,” Kumar stated.
NatConnect has highlighted that this 10-km safety regulation is an integral part of the Maharashtra Government Resolution (GR) that constituted the Aerodrome Environment Management Committee (AEMC) for NMIA. Ironically, CIDCO, which chairs the AEMC and administers the Ulwe node, has taken no visible action against the illegal meat trade flourishing in the area, activists allege, Kumar alleged.
Santosh Kate, president of Ulwe City NCP (Ajit Pawar faction), echoed the concern, saying, “We have filed complaints with various authorities, but there is no on-ground action. CIDCO, which built Navi Mumbai as a model city, is now ignoring a serious safety issue.”
Adding legal weight to the protest, Soorraj Saha, a member of the Bombay High Court-appointed Animal Welfare Monitoring Committee, reported to the Navi Mumbai Police Commissioner that the ongoing slaughter operations violate multiple laws — including the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (1960), Municipal Solid Waste Rules (2016), and the Food Safety and Standards Act (2006). He personally verified the violations on site.
Kumar, meanwhile, filed a fresh complaint on the PMO’s public grievance portal, warning that the accumulation of animal waste is attracting birds like kites, which pose a significant bird-hit risk to aircraft, especially during take-off and landing.
The Aeronautical Information Service (AIS) — operated by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) — has issued a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) highlighting 225 physical obstacles to NMIA’s readiness (including buildings, hills, transmission towers, and mobile towers), the issue of illegal slaughter is not mentioned, Kumar claimed.
Kumar has now taken up this omission with the General Manager of AIS, who responded that the matter has been referred to the “concerned authorities at NMIAL.”
With the airport scheduled to become operational by September 30, activists are urging authorities to take immediate and meaningful action to eliminate threats to aviation safety before the first flight takes off.
