High above its flooded streets, Mumbai plans helicopter rides for commuting

Helicopters will be used for regular commute, medical and other emergency services as well as rescue operations.

Roads and streets in Mumbai were flooded and people were seen wading through knee-deep water | PTI

Mumbai: At a time when several parts of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) are battling floods due to unabated rains, the Maharashtra government’s airport development unit is looking to prepare a master plan for helipads across the urban agglomeration.

The Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) Ltd, which is the state nodal agency in charge of the master plan, has written to various government and semi-government bodies, and appealed to private land owners who have plans to construct helipads or the required space to build one.

Suresh Kakani, vice-chairperson and managing director of MADC, explained, “Many government agencies are planning to build helipads in the MMR as part of several projects. These plans for helipad construction and applications to the Union government for their clearances has been happening in isolation.”

“The MADC can instead collect information about these plans, map them on a master plan and approach necessary authorities for clearances to build helipads in the entire region. Once there is a clear network of helipads, we can use choppers for various purposes — such as regular commuting, medical and other emergency services, rescue operations, etc,” Kakani added.

This isn’t the first time that plans for helipad construction has come up. Previous state governments too have made attempts to connect key areas of Mumbai by helicopter services. However, none of these plans materialised due to lack of clearances and red tape.

Coordinating various helipad plans

The MADC has already written to the government’s urban planning agencies such as the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO), the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation as well as the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) and the Mumbai Police Commissioner’s office, requesting them to share plans of constructing helipads.

The BMC, for instance, had considered construction of helipads as part of its ambitious coastal road project. But work on it has been stayed by the Bombay High Court. The MMRDA, on the other hand, is planning to build a helipad in the Bandra Kurla Complex business district, while the MSRDC had last year studied the feasibility of building one each in South Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Thane.

The MADC has also invited expressions of interest from private land owners in the MMR who are keen on developing helipads. Details such as the exact location coordinates, total area, television towers nearby, high-rise buildings, closest hospitals and so on are being sought.

Previous plans

As of now, Mumbai has helipads at Raj Bhavan, INS Kunjali at Colaba, Santacruz airport, Juhu aerodrome and Mahalaxmi racecourse. But not all of these are open for public use.

The Raj Bhavan helipad is used for the governor and heads of states, the one at INS Kunjali is used for defence purposes, while the Mahalaxmi racecourse helipad is used for private landings.

The previous state government led by the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) had also proposed connecting significant areas of Mumbai with helicopter services, proposing helipads at four more locations — Nariman Point, Nerul in Navi Mumbai, Backbay Reclamation, and Bandra near Lilavati Hospital.

However, the Indian Navy refused permission for helicopter operations in South Mumbai, citing security reasons. Plans for the other helipads too never took off.