The Ministry of Civil Aviation is working to simplify and automate the process for obtaining No Objection Certificates (NOCs) for building and infrastructure projects around airports, with the government looking to provide permissible building height information upfront and reduce manual intervention.
Civil aviation minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu on Wednesday directed officials of the ministry and Airports Authority of India (AAI) to work out modalities for simplifying, automating and decentralising the NOC process and take necessary action within 15 days.
The proposed changes are aimed at making the process more transparent and predictable for individuals, housing societies, builders and industry, while retaining aviation safety requirements.
Pre-Approved Height Limits
One of the key measures under consideration is providing applicants with the permissible or identified building height at the initial stage itself, particularly in major metropolitan cities such as Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad. This would allow developers to assess height restrictions before proceeding with building plans.
The ministry also reviewed the process for aeronautical studies, which are required to assess the impact of proposed structures on aircraft operations. Officials discussed reducing the requirement for physical site verification at the initial stage and rationalising the submission of building development plans and other documents.
ULB-Level Clearance
The government is also examining whether NOCs can be issued at the urban local body (ULB) level wherever feasible. At present, the No Objection Certificate Application System (NOCAS) covers areas within 20 km for Visual Flight Rules (VFR) operations and 56 km for Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations.
Decentralising the process to ULBs could reduce the need for individuals and businesses to approach AAI directly for NOCs.
The ministry said the reforms are intended to make the NOC process hassle-free, time-bound and transparent, with greater use of automation and publicly available data on permissible building heights.
The government is seeking to improve ease of doing business in the sector without compromising aviation safety. A simpler clearance framework, it said, could help speed up infrastructure and development projects and support investment, employment and economic activity.