‘Declare areas affected by Mumbai Airport Funnel Zone as degraded infrastructure,’ says MP Varsha Gaikwad

Mumbai: Mumbai Congress president Varsha Gaikwad has asked the civil aviation ministry to declare the area affected by the funnel zone of the Mumbai airport runway as “infrastructure affected”.

Gaikwad, who represents Parliament House Mumbai North Central, wrote in a letter to Civil Aviation Minister KR Naidu that the redevelopment of over 6,000 buildings in the funnel area of ​​the Mumbai airport runway remains uncertain due to height restrictions imposed by the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

The funnel zone includes areas aligned with the runways and along the specific routes that aircraft follow when landing and taking off.

Statement by Mumbai Congress President Varsha Gaikwad

“This has severely affected the viability of several redevelopment projects, leaving six to eight lakh Mumbaikars living in Vile Parle, Santacruz, Kurla and Ghatkopar (West) in a precarious situation. The stalled development projects are causing financial hardship for the residents,” she said.

“Some of these buildings were existing even before the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport was built. These buildings need to be redeveloped urgently. The redevelopment of slums in this area is also being affected. There can be no compromise on the safety of the airport operations, but the government must consider the issue of families affected by the hopper zone restrictions,” she added.

The Lok Sabha MP said the transmission towers and high-frequency communication systems should be relocated in a manner that does not compromise the security of the airport, one of the busiest in the country.

The congress leader demanded that the feasibility of a revaluation of the funnel line should also be taken into account, without this being at the expense of safety at the airport.

There has been a delay in formulating a special redevelopment policy for this ‘infrastructure degraded area’ and the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Government of Maharashtra should work together expeditiously to formulate such a policy.

“The policy should provide additional building rights in the form of TDR (Transferable Development Rights) to compensate for the loss of development to its full potential. There should be exemption from various building premiums to make redevelopment projects in this region viable,” she said.

Published: Sunday, July 28, 2024, 11:22 AM IST