IAF Air Funnel Zones - Silchar

Silchar's airport carries a dual-control complication that most buyers never check. The terminal operates as a civil enclave on the premises of the Indian Air Force's Kumbhirgram station, sharing basic modular infrastructure with military operations. That shared status means both AAI's civil NOC rules and defense-linked land controls can apply, depending on which side of the boundary a plot sits.

Here's how the height bands break down as distance from the airport increases:

These figures come from the Height Restrictions for Safeguarding of Aircraft Operations Rules, 2015 (G.S.R. 751(E)), notified on 30 September 2015, and the 20 km radius applies specifically because Kumbhirgram is classified as a VFR airport, with distances measured from its aerodrome reference point. If a broker in Silchar tells you a plot is "just outside city limits" without naming a distance from the airport, that's not an answer. Get the exact kilometer figure and ask whether an NOC has already been filed for that survey plot. Only sites beyond 20 km, with proposed structures under 150 m above ground level, skip the NOC requirement entirely, and given Kumbhirgram's location on the edge of town, several outlying growth pockets still fall inside that ring.

Land sale and construction permission in Silchar doesn't run through a single desk the way it might elsewhere. A Gauhati High Court matter confirmed that the Silchar Municipal Board holds the authority to grant permission for the purchase and sale of land and for the erection of buildings within the municipal area, a power it formally asserted from January 1, 2000, under the 74th Constitution Amendment Act. Any land sale without that permission carries legal risk. Separately, the Directorate of Town and Country Planning, Assam, prepares master plans for notified towns under the Assam Town and Country Planning Act 1959, and these plans have a fixed validity period after which they require revision. Check whether Silchar's current master plan is still within its validity window before relying on its zoning.

The biggest shift on the horizon isn't a zoning change; it's a new airport altogether:

Construction of the Silchar greenfield airport at Doloo tea estate in Cachar district was scheduled to begin December 1, 2025, led by the Airports Authority of India, with the project intended to replace the existing Kumbhirgram defence airport whose capacity can't keep pace with civilian demand. State authorities have pushed the Ministry of Civil Aviation to fast-track approvals given that most preparatory work is already complete. This matters directly for land buyers: once Kumbhirgram's civilian operations wind down in favour of Doloo, the current 20 km funnel zone around the existing airport could eventually lift, while a fresh funnel zone forms around the new site. Anyone buying near Kumbhirgram today for future height flexibility should track this transition closely rather than assume today's restrictions are permanent.