The Bombay high court has directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to demolish a building that is too close to the vicinity of the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport. The HC has asked the BMC to demolish the building, named Sayali Construction, for violating height regulation norms.

The court also directed that criminal proceedings be initiated and an FIR be registered against the developer.

A division bench of justice V.M. Kanade and Justice M.S. Sonak was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by activist Yaswant Shenoy, who alleged that widespread violations of rules had resulted in skyscrapers coming up in the vicinity of airports and in flight paths, raising concerns about public safety and security.

On Wednesday, while hearing the petition, the HC came to know that the building, which had been constructed despite rules being flouted, had been built near the airport and is creating major problems for aeroplanes that are in flight. The developer concerned had approached the HC and obtained a stay on the demolition. After hearing this, the HC on Wednesday vacated that stay and directed that the building be demolished.

The HC also directed the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) to register an FIR against the developer within 48 hours.

The petitioner told the court that after 2012, MIAL had issued hundreds of notices to DGCA, saying action should be taken against those buildings that are too close to the airport, but the DGCA hasn’t taken any action as of now.

The HC has asked the DGCA to answer within two weeks what action it has taken after the notices were issued by MIAL.

The court also rapped the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for not suggesting any expert from the International Civil Aviation Organisation for the committee that AAI appointed in October 2015. The HC warned AAI that if it did not suggest the name of any expert, then the court would ask the AAI chairman or the highest AAI official to remain present in the court.

“We are hearing this petition for a year now, but no action has been taken by any authority as of now,” said the court.