Nagpur: The Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court on Friday took suo motu cognisance of the protracted delay in recarpeting the runway at Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport in Nagpur, elevating the matter to a Public Interest Litigation. Justices Nitin Sambre and Abhay Mantri, heading the division bench, issued notices to key stakeholders, demanding responses by August 14.
The court has directed multiple entities to respond, including Civil Aviation Ministry, Airports Authority of India (AAI), MIHAN India Limited, Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) and State’s Directorate of Civil Aviation.
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The court’s intervention follows media reports highlighting the postponement of the recarpeting project due to the onset of the monsoon, significantly impacting thousands of travellers and airline operations. Since April, the runway has been shut daily from 10 am to 7:30 pm, restricting flights to morning and evening hours.
The Rs 60 crore recarpeting project aims to resurface the 3,200-metre runway and was initially planned in two phases for 2024: March 15 to July 15, and September 15 to December. However, delays have persisted since the project’s conception at a meeting on June 19, 2023. This renovation marks the first major overhaul since 2014 when similar restrictions were imposed to facilitate work during lower traffic periods.
Government pleader Deven Chauhan informed that the court has appointed Kartik Shukul as amicus curiae to draft the petition and argue the case, highlighting the gravity of the situation.
The airport, which handles an average of 30 flights daily from carriers such as Indigo, Air India, and Qatar Airways, has seen its operations significantly disrupted by the current closure. Last month, BJP State President Chandrashekhar Bawankule urged MIHAN officials to postpone the recarpeting work until after the monsoon. Consequently, at a meeting on June 16, AAI and the contractor company decided to shift the project to winter, prioritising safety measures.
As the next hearing approaches, attention will be focused on the respondents’ explanations and the potential solutions they propose to address this prolonged delay. The court’s intervention aims to expedite the project and mitigate the ongoing disruptions to air travel in and out of Nagpur.
