Incentivise pilots causing less noise pollution: NGT

“What do you (ministry) propose to lessen the noise pollution? Why don’t you consider providing incentives to the pilots who generate least noise pollution while landing at airports? Think of something constructive,” a bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar observed. It also slammed the government  for allowing constructions to come up near the airports and said there should be some limit to development activities close to such places. “You people talk of foreign countries. You are not restricting development near airports. Gurgaon, Dwarka, Palam, Vasant Kunj, all these places have come upto IGI Airport. There has to be some limit,” the bench said. The observations came during hearing a plea a batch of pleas filed by the residents of South Delhi’s Vasant Kunj, Bijwasan and Indian Spinal Injuries Centre (ISIC), a super-specialty hospital, seeking directions to reduce noise level in the residential areas near the airport. 

The green panel also asked the ministry and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to develop green cover around the area and increase the height of the boundary wall of the airport to minimise sound pollution. It also directed the ministry to submit its views on effective use of “reverse thrust” to decrease noise pollution caused due to operation of flights at the airport. Thrust reversal, also called reverse thrust, is the temporary diversion of an aircraft engine’s exhaust so that it is directed forward, rather than backwards. The bench, however, rejected the contention of the petitioner that there should be sound-proofing of houses near the airport and cost should be borne by the respondents. The matter is now listed for next hearing on February 23. 

The Ministry for Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) had last year come out with draft noise standards for airports, reducing the existing threshold for noise limits. 

The NGT had last directed the Ministry of Civil Aviation and DGCA to provide data on domestic and international flights at IGI Airport with details of their departure and arrivals. It had also asked the government to file note on the mitigating steps taken by it to notify noise-level standards for airport noise zones.