Shimla: The Himachal High Court on Wednesday took a strong stand on the long-pending issue of air connectivity to the state capital, issuing a 10-day ultimatum to the central government.
A division bench of Chief Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia and Justice Bipin Chandra Negi directed the Union Civil Aviation Ministry to submit a detailed and fixed timeline for restarting flights to Shimla. The bench did not hide its dissatisfaction with the ministry’s current plan.
Why did the court get involved?
The court was hearing a matter concerning Shimla’s isolation from the national air network. The judges argued that every other state capital in the country is connected by air. Keeping Shimla off the aviation map, they stated, was irrational and could not be tolerated. The court termed the prolonged delay as “step-motherly treatment” of the hill state.
What did the government say?
During the hearing, the Secretary of the Union Civil Aviation Ministry appeared via video conferencing. The official informed the court that Shimla is being brought under the revised UDAN scheme and that air services are set to begin from May 21.
The bench immediately rejected this as a delaying tactic and demanded concrete action instead of vague assurances.
What are the safety concerns?
The central government’s counsel explained a key hurdle. Landing a large aircraft at the Shimla airport is risky. The task of providing air services has been handed to Alliance Air, but the airline currently possesses only two small aircraft. This limited fleet poses a logistical challenge for consistent operations.
The court did not accept this as a valid excuse for indefinite delay. It subsequently made the airline a respondent in the case and issued a notice, asking the company to present its side. The matter will now be heard again on May 14.
Locals say the absence of flights forces travellers to rely solely on winding mountain roads, which often get blocked by landslides.
Court cracks down on faulty hospital lifts
In a separate but equally significant case, the same division bench took serious note of the hardship caused to patients due to non-functional lifts in Himachal’s government hospitals.
The court ordered the state government and the health department to immediately improve the situation. A new status report, containing a detailed list of all multi-storey government hospitals and the condition of their lifts, has been demanded.
An affidavit presented in court revealed alarming data. Out of 56 lifts installed across 118 multi-storey hospitals in the state, only 43 are operational. The remaining 13 lifts have been shut down due to poor maintenance and other technical issues.
The human cost of broken lifts
The bench was visibly upset by these findings. It was brought to the court’s attention that even the functioning lifts often have one reserved exclusively for doctors and staff. As a direct result, elderly patients, disabled individuals, and critically ill people are forced to climb stairs to reach upper floors.
Calling the situation “extremely worrisome,” the court made it clear that there will be zero compromise on patient convenience. The state government has been ordered to fix all 13 broken lifts within a fixed timeframe. The next hearing on this matter is scheduled for June 30.
