High Court slams poor air connectivity in Jabalpur:Warns officials may be transferred to city to personally face impact of limited flight services

The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Monday strongly criticized the government over the declining air connectivity from Jabalpur despite an investment of nearly Rs 500 crore on the expansion of Dumna Airport. During the hearing, the division bench of Chief Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva and Justice Vinay Saraf remarked: Why was Rs 500 crore spent if there are no flights? Why is Jabalpur being given second-hand treatment? The court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by the Citizen Consumer Guidance Forum, raising concerns over the limited number of flights operating from the city. Court warns of transferring officials to Jabalpur Expressing displeasure, the High Court stated that if the situation continues, it may transfer top officials from the capital to Jabalpur, so they themselves can experience the poor connectivity. “If this continues, we will transfer senior officials here so they can also face the inconvenience of poor air connectivity,” the bench said. Only one airline operating despite ₹500 crore expansion The court noted that despite heavy expenditure on airport expansion, many flights have been discontinued, and currently, only IndiGo Airlines operates from Jabalpur. “You’ve spent so much money, yet smaller cities like Rewa have more flights. Why is Jabalpur always treated as second priority? Is it because it’s not an administrative headquarters?” the bench questioned. Flights should be before offices open in the morning and after they close in the evening Government and airlines’ submissions During the hearing, the state government informed the court that the Directorate of Aviation had recently issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) to increase domestic and international flights. However, the court observed that the proposal mainly focused on Indore, not Jabalpur. Meanwhile, IndiGo’s counsel, Advocate Siddharth Sharma, told the court that the airline plans to start two new flights from November. The court suggested that flight timings should be scheduled for early morning and late evening, to facilitate business travelers and tourists. Next hearing on November 6 The High Court has directed the Centre, state government, and airline companies to hold a joint meeting with the petitioner’s counsel to discuss ways to improve air connectivity from Jabalpur. The matter has been listed for the next hearing on November 6.