IT development, infrastructure and modernisation”, seem to be the clichéd chant when someone talks about Bangalore’s development. The buzzword is “economic development” and issues like environmental impact, erosion of peace have all gone with the wind. Of the many issues plaguing the city’s structure, the most recent one is the closure of the Hindustan Aeronautic Limited Airport. 

A division bench of the Karnataka High Court comprising Chief Justice Cyriac Joseph and Justice Ravi Malimath recently passed an order on several public interest litigation (PIL) petitions challenging the closure of the HAL Airport for commercial civil aviation operations. The High Court order dated April 17, 2008, refused to stay the closure of the HAL airport but directed the Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) to consider renegotiations based on the terms in the contract.

Though the High Court, reportedly had not considered the environmental impacts, its refusal to grant a stay of closure will in fact benefit the environment.

Noise levels

A study conducted by the students of Bangalore University, listed that the noise around the HAL Airport is around 86 – 102 Decibels. The HAL airport initially was not surrounded by a busy residential and commercial area.

However due to the city's constant expansion, the HAL is flanked by constant human activity which suffers due to the loud levels of noise emanating from the airport.

The Supreme Court while interpreting various provisions relating to protection of the environment held that every person in India is guaranteed a right to live a comfortable life, without any hindrances such as pollution and nuisance under Article 21 of the Constitution.

It was held that noise pollution violated Article 21 of the Constitution. The maximum permissible noise levels under the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000 is 75 Decibels in an Industrial area. The sound from the HAL airport is much higher than permitted standards, therefore the noise standards by the HAL airport is in contravention to the law laid down by the legislature and the Supreme Court on the same.

High sound levels such as the noise emitted by an airport can produce both temporary and permanent hearing losses due to over stimulation and/or mechanical trauma. Noise induced hearing loss (NIHL) is a sensory-neural type of hearing loss which is caused due to prolonged exposure to high level sounds. NIHL is an established effect of noise on health however, in addition to NIHL an individual exposed to noise becomes susceptible to varying degrees of physiological, psychological and psychiatric disorders.

Some of these are seen by a change in body functions, such as heart rate, glandular functions, breathing patterns, muscle tension. It has also been proved that in the presence of noise an individual's ability to perform various kinds of mental tasks deteriorates.

Psychological effect

In addition to all the biological factors associated with high level of noise in a prime living area, noise can also have the psychological effect of causing annoyance. Annoyance refers to the capacity of noise to bother, disturb or interrupt sleep, communication, effective performance of tasks, enjoyment of leisure activities and relaxation.

The degree of annoyance is directly related to the sensitivity of an individual. Some individuals exhibit high annoyance when exposed to conditions of low noise (hypersensitives) while some individuals report less or no annoyance under conditions of high level noise. As a result of annoyance the individual exhibits behavioural disturbances.

Some results indicate a higher sensitivity of critical groups (eg old people, the sick, children, pregnant women). In light of these known effects of noise on humans, most advanced cities take measures such as noise inhibition mechanisms and measures to distance the airport from resident human activities. Most well planned cities have airports situated well away from the hub of activity, in order to minimise the impact of noise and air pollution. 

It is high time we learnt that the city does need some respite from our persistent harassment of convenience and development. The time is ripe for us to accept a few changes for the sake of our own comfort and the environment that needs to outlive us.