STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: You have bought a drone, and you are ready to get the battery charged and take it out for the first test flight. But before you do, you need to be aware of the new rules and regulations that the Centre has put in place for flying drones or unmanned aerial vehicles in the country.
Now, no one can use or operate a drone for any purpose without prior permission from the competent authorities. If one violates the rules and flies a drone at one’s own will, the police can take stringent legal actions under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Barring the Kamrup (Metropolitan) district, one has to submit application to the Deputy Commissioner of his respective district to seek permission to fly drones. The application must be enclosed with detailed information such as locations where drones will fly and the purpose of flying drones in those locations. The application must also contain detailed specifications of drones. The DC will then send the application to the police stations concerned to assess the ground situation and security concerns. The police will check out whether the locations where the applicant wants to fly drones have any vital establishments and installations such as airport and military base as well as security concern. The police will send its report to the DC. The DC, on the basis of the police report, will take the final decision on whether permission could be granted or not.
In Kamrup (Metropolitan) district, an individual will have to submit his or her application for the same purpose to the Police Commissioner instead of the DC. Other rules and regulations and procedures to grant and reject permission to fly drones are same with other districts.
On December 1, 2018, the Office of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, New Delhi, came out with guidelines to operate drones in the country.