Hans News Service Bengaluru

InfrastructureDevelopment Minister M.B. Patil said the Supreme Court, in its final judgment delivered on Wednesday, has removed the environmental clearance hurdle that had delayed the commissioning of the Vijayapura Airport, which is otherwise ready for operations. He said that, subject to the remaining statutory approvals being completed as expected, the airport could be inaugurated and become operational within the next three months.

Speaking on the development, the Minister welcomed the judgment delivered by the three-member Bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul M. Pancholi, describing it as a significant and welcome decision.

Patil also expressed his gratitude to Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, Senior Advocate Devadatt Kamat, Advocate General Shashikiran Shetty, and the State Government’s counsel Nishanth Patil for effectively placing before the Supreme Court the larger public interest involved in the Vijayapura Airport project.

The Minister recalled that obtaining prior environmental clearance is mandatory before undertaking projects, whether public or private, that involve public interest. However, in its order dated May 16, 2025, the Supreme Court had held that projects commenced without such prior approval were liable to be cancelled. This had created serious uncertainty for the Vijayapura Airport project as well. Patil said he had then approached Tushar Mehta, Kapil Sibal, Devadatt Kamat and Nishanth Patil, requesting them to help resolve the issue.

“With today’s final verdict, I feel greatly relieved,” he said.

Patil said the Supreme Court has now directed the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to dispose of all pending applications seeking environmental clearance. This has cleared the way for the Vijayapura Airport project to secure the necessary approval.

Once the clearance is granted, officials of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will visit Vijayapura to inspect the completed infrastructure before granting the required operational clearances.

The Minister explained that when the matter came up for hearing on April 1 this year, the Supreme Court had granted interim relief to projects awaiting environmental clearance, directed a detailed examination of the issue and reserved its final judgment. In Wednesday’s verdict, the Court has now made that relief permanent. Meanwhile, the State Government has already submitted its application seeking environmental clearance for the Vijayapura Airport project, he added.

Patil said that after environmental clearance is obtained, the DGCA will inspect the completed works at the Vijayapura Airport. Once this statutory process is completed, the airport will be ready to commence operations.

The Minister noted that more than Rs 614 crore has been invested in the construction of the Vijayapura Airport. Once operational, it is expected to significantly improve connectivity and provide a major boost to the Kittur Karnataka region as well as neighbouring areas.