New Delhi, July 30: The Delhi High Court on Monday ordred to stop construction of high-rise buildings around Indira Gandhi International airport until further orders. The matter will be next heard on September 17.

The order came on a PIL by Kerala-based lawyer Yashwanth Shenoy who said the Aerocity, which has several high rise hotels, near the international airport was major threat to security and safety of the aircraft flying over it.

He said it was easy for any terrorist to bring down a plane from these hotels as they do not have bullet-proof windows, a requirement for being allowed to come up there, neither sufficient security personnel at these establishments.

On March 20, the operator of the IGI airport told the High Court that there are 365 obstacles around the aviation hub that may pose a threat to aircraft safety.

Earlier, a bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar directed the Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) which runs the airport, and the local authorities to give a list of the obstacles, their nature and the action taken to remove them.

The court asked the aviation regulator DGCA how it granted permission for a runway at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport when there were obstacles around it.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 30, 2018 04:08 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).