Nagarjuna Pilaka
Abstract
The current Mumbai airport is almost at capacity for passengers, and it is exceedingly difficult to expand the infrastructure for both passenger and cargo operations. This is primarily due to the severe land constraints in Mumbai, the city where the airport is located. However, according to the MMRâs study, the demand for air travel will increase from about 30 million passengers annually in 2010â11 to 120 million passengers annually by 2030â31. If this is the case, the Mumbai airport will not be able to accommodate the enormous rise in travel demand. Building a second airport for MMR is therefore essential, and the Navi Mumbai International Airport Project (NMIA) is intended to meet the anticipated rise in air travel demand. However, the predicted cost of the new airport project is very high, especially when it comes to the environmental aspect. According to a study, more than 250 acres of mangroves and 1000 acres of alluvial plains would be permanently destroyed, resulting in habitat loss and environmental degradation surrounding the project. Additionally, a river would be diverted, a hill would be flattened, and a sizable swamp of mangroves, forest, and wetlands would be destroyed. As a result, the NMIA Project raises environmental concerns regarding the process of choosing an idle site for a greenfield airport construction project; this is exactly what the study is discussing.