New Delhi:
The central government on Wednesday informed the Delhi High Court that it has sought help from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) experts to reduce the noise level near the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport here.
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) AS Chandhiok told the division bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Sanjiv Khanna that the government had sought suggestions from IIT experts to check noise arising from planes, specially at night.
The court asked the government to file a detailed affidavit by Nov 9.
After hearing a plea of people living near the airport, the court Oct 20 said that the government had failed to take any steps to curb the noise pollution.
The government informed the court that no aircraft with noisy engines would be allowed to take off or land at the airport at night from Nov 1.
"With this new rule coming into effect to reduce noise pollution from aircraft... we are confident that the residents living in the vicinity of the airport will not have to face much problem," said the ASG.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) also issued a circular on the issue, following directions from the court, he said.
Counsel for Delhi International Airport Ltd. (DIAL) informed the bench that directions had been issued to aircraft operators to curb the noise pollution.
"We have fixed the limits in airport zones at 105 decibels during the day and 95 decibels at night," Chandhiok said.
The new DGCA rule also said that no aircraft operator should indulge in any activity related to aircraft operation that exceeded or intended to exceed the maximum permissible noise limits at the airport during the day.
The maximum limit for noise level at night have been fixed at levels lower than most major international airports including New York's JFK (99 decibels), Rio de Janeiro (118.4 decibels), Paris (104.5 decibels) and Osaka (107 decibels).
Three airports in London have 94 decibels as the limit.