The Meghalaya High Court on Wednesday expressed concern over delays by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation in clearing safety assessment documents for the Shillong Airport runway expansion project, warning that it could lead to cost escalation borne by taxpayers.
Hearing a PIL on the matter, the division bench of Chief Justice Revati Mohite Dere and Justice W Diengdoh noted that environmental clearance for the proposed runway expansion was received from the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change on March 28, 2026.
Work order for expansion of the runway, terminal building, apron and allied works was awarded to M/s KCC Buildcon Pvt Ltd on April 1, 2026, with 18 months allotted for completion, including 3 months for rains.
The timeline is reckoned from 10 days after issuance of the letter.
As per a status report filed by the Airports Authority of India on April 22, 2026, safety assessment documents for the execution stage were prepared and sent to AAI, CHQ for vetting before submission to DGCA.
Deputy Solicitor General of India Dr N Mozika informed the court that till date no instructions have been received from DGCA on the safety evaluation report.
Advocate General A Kumar also submitted that the State government has handed over land to Defence authorities in exchange for land needed for the runway expansion.
The bench observed that nearly one and a half months have passed since the work order, and the DGCA’s delay in submitting its report would further delay the project and cause cost escalation.
“We are afraid that this delay would further delay the project, leading to cost escalation in the project thereby, indirectly resulting in the tax payers having to bear the brunt of the same,” the court said.
The High Court directed DSGI to inform it on the next date whether DGCA has submitted its report and, if not, to take steps to expedite the process so work can be completed within the contracted 18-month period.
The court also requested DGCA to expedite processing of the requisite report.
The matter has been posted for next hearing on June 30, 2026.