The travails of the Navi Mumbai airport witnessed so far, fails to inspire confidence in the future of the infrastructure segment of the Indian aviation industry. There is undoubtedly a need for total systemic correction.

The proposal for a second international airport for Mumbai designed to handle 50 million passengers annually, when finally completed, was accorded in-principle approval by the Union Cabinet in May 2007. The first phase with a capacity to handle 10 million passengers annually was to be ready by 2012 and the plan was to progressively increase annual passenger handling capacity to 40 million by 2030. Estimates are that by 2030, the total passenger traffic out of the two airports in Mumbai would reach 90 million annually.

More than three years have gone by since approval by the government; but the Greenfield airport project remains grounded owing to divergence in the perceptions and priorities of the two Union Ministries involved, i.e., the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) headed by Praful Patel and the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) under Jairam Ramesh. The Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) at Sahar currently under upgradation, is expected to reach saturation point of 40 million by 2012. There is no scope for further capacity enhancement as there is just no land available. The projections are that driven by a resurgent economy, the volume of passenger traffic will continue to grow continuously. The traffic at the CSIA is beginning to get unmanageable and Mumbai, the commercial capital of India, has already conceded leadership to Delhi in respect of civil air traffic. A second international airport has indeed become an imperative need for Mumbai.

To be located 35 km from Santacruz on NH 4B near Panvel in Navi Mumbai, the site selected for the new airport has been languishing in controversy from the very beginning. The site identified lies in an ecologically sensitive coastal area notified by the government as coastal regulation zone (CRZ) I and CRZ III. In response to a petition by the Bombay Environmental Action Group (BEAG), in October 2005, the Bombay High Court had imposed a total ban on the destruction of mangroves and construction activities within 50 metres of this unique gift of nature. As the related government notifications to regulate construction activities in the CRZs were in place, appropriate amendments to the notification based on fresh orders from the Court was necessary before final environmental clearance given by the MoEF for the new airport. Incidentally, the CRZ notifications have been amended 19 times already to cater for various requirements including the establishment of the Palm Beach Road golf course in Navi Mumbai. Obtaining the necessary court order therefore did not prove to be a difficult task and the final amendment of the CRZ notification allowing removal of the mangrove forest for the airport project was issued on May 15, 2009.