Environment and forests ministry has put a blanket ban on new private helipads. They will not be given clearance by the ministry as they violate permissible noise levels. “It's a strict no-no for new private helipads as they violate noise norms. Only government-owned helipads will be given clearance,” Jairam Ramesh, the environment and forests minister said at the sidelines of an event on Tuesday. He was replying to a query on the status of Maharashtra's plan to set up helipads on the rooftop of buildings.

“As long as the Maharashtra government uses such helipads for medical emergency or security-related needs, we have no problem. However, any private helipad for private use or for that matter even for public use will not be allowed. Also, we want to make clear that public helipads will have to be used exclusively for public purpose and not to serve private interest. The notion of having private helipads does not make any sense to me when we are talking about equity and equitable access to atmospheric space," he added.

The ministry has told the Bombay High Court recently that it does not support new helipads in Mumbai.