CIVIL WRIT No.4851 of 2022: Abhijeet Kuma Pandey vs the State of Bihar
A team of advocates from SKV law offices has structured a PIL, seeking the Hon’ble Patna High Court’s i ndulgence, in the creation of the first-ever greenfield airport in Bihar. Under this, a civil writ petition (Mandamus) has been filed by the Petitioner Abhijeet Kumar Pandey in the Court. Mr. Pandey, a resident of Bihar and a lawyer by profession, has presented compelling arguments and evidence in this PIL, reflecting the urgent demand for a Greenfield airport in Bihar.
This PIL has been a culmination of efforts by Senior Advocate Shri Vikas Singh, SKV Law Offices (Commercial) along with Sr. Adv. Miranl Molly, Sr. Adv. Jitendra Kumar Singh, Ex Civil Aviation Minister Mr. Rajeev Pratap Rudy, Mr. Sanket Kumar, and Mr.Ravi. A bunch of related Petitions were filed in the Hon’ble High Court seeking immediate attention to the acute need for a Greenfield airport in Bihar. Through various briefings, Advocate Shri Varun Singh highlighted multiple socio-economic issues of Bihar like rising air traffic demands, migrations, infrastructural bottlenecks, etc. that can be addressed through a new Greenfield airport. At the same time, this airport would also open up multiple new vistas of opportunities for economic growth, human resource development, trade, and tourism in Bihar.
In this light, the Hon’ble High Court, vide an order dated 31.03.2022, took cognizance of the
explained dwindling state of Airport infrastructure in Bihar:
● With the highest population density in the country and the third highest population, Bihar has just three functional AAI airports- Patna, Gaya, and more recently Darbhanga. Bihta & Purnea proposed Civil Enclaves are to be developed by AAI.
● Apart from these three, other airports’ infrastructure in Bihar is in a non-operational state or suffers from extremely limited capacity.
● In fact, airports that currently cater to the entire population of the State are in an utter dangerous state. Where an average Airport strip is supposed to be 8000 feet in length, the current Patna airport has a strip only 6000 feet long, leading every aircraft to a rough skid during touchdown.
● Given the landlocked nature of Bihar as well as the rising demand for air traffic, Greenfield airports have become an indispensable necessity. Proximity to Countries like Nepal and Bangladesh further heightens this demand.
● Under the Government of India’s flagship scheme UDAN, 21 State Government airports, and 3 AAI airports were included in Bihar. However, no airlines bid were made towards them. Neither did the state government take any steps to sponsor specific routes which were expected under UDAN 4.0 and 4.1.
In this light, the Hon’ble Court asked the learned Advocate General Shri Lalit Kishore to take up this issue with the highest authority of the state.
The Court also acknowledged that the policy decisions regarding the matter fall outside the Court’s jurisdiction and it can only play a facilitative role. Therefore, the Hon’ble High Court issued notice on 30 March 2022 asking relevant government functionaries to take active steps to address this matter. The Court also directed the State and the Central Authorities through an order dated 31.08.2022 as to why such an airport should not be constructed.
In conclusion, the Hon’ble High Court referring to the Maneka Gandhi vs. Union of India Case (1971), emphasized a wide interpretation of Article 21. The Court acknowledged that the Right to Travel is one of the most crucial fundamental rights enshrined in our Constitution. Under Article 21 and Article 19 (1)(d), any citizen of India can freely travel abroad or within the country, respectively. Therefore, it has been an honest attempt of the petitioner and the SKV Law team, to ensure that infrastructural limitations do not violate the basic rights promised to the citizens, by the very law of the land.
SKV Comment
India in the last 70 years has not been able to have a Greenfield Airport in the State of Bihar. When the Airports Authority of India for the first time carried out a feasibility report in Sonpur (roughly 7-8 km from the capital Patna), the technical evaluations suggested a good possibility of a Greenfield Aiport spanning an area of 2300 acres. Noticeably, all the airports currently functional in the State of Bihar are spread over land measuring 200-300 acres. This Airport can also be utilized for landing all light-bodied aircraft including the A380 which is one of the world’s largest aircraft that requires a broad as well as a long airstrip.
Unfortunately, despite multiple attempts over the years, the construction of this new airport has been hindered due to political reasons and without any justifiable rationale. The PIL petitioner through the present petition has brought out all these facts. The petition also explains how the construction of a Greenfield Airport would not be a burden upon the state or the sector as the new Greenfield Policy permits an Airport Company to bid and fund such an airport entirely at its own cost, including the cost of land.
This Greenfield Airport could cater to the needs of the State of Bihar for the next 50-70 years. In fact, it will give the State the proud privilege of owning one of Asia’s biggest Airports. Most importantly, this Greenfield Airport could create connectivity for the residents of Bihar by direct flights from their state to all across Asia, Europe, and the USA.
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