Delhi HC seeks govt response to PIL calling closure of slaughterhouses near IGI Airport
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notices to the Delhi Government, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Airports Authority of India (AAI), the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) on a plea, highlighting the rising number of bird strikes at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport here.
The petition, filed by social activist Gauri Maulekhi, cited data showing that between 2018 and 2023, the IGI Airport recorded 705 bird-strike incidents, surpassing the combined total of 654 across 29 airports in Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
The plea noted a sharp increase in such incidents from 2022, with IGI reporting 183 bird strikes that year, compared to 94 in 2021 and 62 in 2020. It also pointed out that Delhi’s wildlife strike numbers exceeded those at Mumbai and Bengaluru airports combined (623) during the same period.
Maulekhi attributed the surge in bird strikes to the presence of slaughterhouses, meat shops, dairy farms and environmental pollution near the airport. She contended that such operations violated the Aircraft Rules, 1937, and the Bharatiya Vayuyan Vidheyak, 2024, which prohibited activities attracting birds within a 10-km radius of an airport.
She urged the court to direct the authorities to implement preventive measures, including the Bird Aircraft Strike Hazard (BASH) programme and the Bird Avoidance Model (BAM), to mitigate risks.
Maulekhi further alleged that over 500 illegal slaughterhouses continued to operate within 10 km of IGI Airport. She sought the court’s directives for inspections, penalties on violators and stringent enforcement of regulations to curb untreated waste disposal. The high court has scheduled the next hearing for May 14.
