123Pune.com

The city could get its first rooftop helipad soon. Devi Construction Co and the Aditya Birla Memorial Hospital (ABMH) from Pune are among 10 institutions in the country that have recently sought permission from the civil aviation ministry to set up rooftop helipads.

As of now two that have rooftop heliports in the city are Essar Group and Taj Wellington Mews, both in Mumbai.

Incidentally neither of the two institutions currently own a helicopter. However while in the case of ABMH, the Birla Group does own choppers which will probably be pressed into service in Pune, Baney said he intends to purchase one as soon as plans fall into place.

“We sent in our application asking permission for a rooftop helipad a few months ago and it’s still pending with the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). They have reverted to us with some technical queries regarding the feasibility of setting up the heliport. We hope to answer them soon so that thematter can progressfurther,’’ said M H Upadhyaya, COO ABMH. According to Upadhyaya, other than the emergency medical services required by the hospital, the move for permission was made also keeping in mind the boom in medical tourism in the city.

“There are a lot of foreigners coming to Pune for treatment. This facility would greatly benefit those who’d like to come directly here from the Mumbai airport and do not want to take the road or rail route,’’ he added.

Devi Construction on the other hand has chosen to seek permission purely for the novelty aspect of it and for the fact that the move will add yet another luxurious dimension to housing for rich and famous in Pune. The rooftop helipad if approved will come up on top of

their residential project coming up near Empress Garden.

“This is for the rich and famous who may want to reach Pune by a chopper. Also in case of any medical emergency a resident can be transported without any delay to the hospital. Today having a chopper for such services may seem far-fetched. But I’m sure in a few years a chopper service would quite common,’’ said K P Baney, managing director Devi Constructions whose project targets high-end users with each apartment costing Rs 1.25 crore and above. According to Baney the cost of the helipad would be to the tune of Rs 50-60 lakh and if the permission comes through, he intends to include this cost in the bookings of the project that is still at a nascent stage.

The DGCA issues a specific set of guidelines for heliport planning, infrastructure, markings, safety devices, physical characteristics and so on and its approval is mandatory for setting up a rooftop helipad. Civil aviation minister Praful Patel had confirmed in the Rajya Sabha during the question hour earlier this month that 10 institutions in the country -including the two from Pune-have sought permission for rooftop helipads.

The DGCA authorities also confirmed that the applications are still being examined and approval has not yet been given for any.

Amongst the other institutions that have sought permission are United Breweries (Holdings) Ltd Bangalore, AIIMS New Delhi, KKJ Foundation Ernakulam and Satnam Realtors, Mumbai.

http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Two-Pune-institutions-move-DGCA-...