New mobile tower norms to ensure sweeping changes

High-power committee examining health hazards lays down ground rules for installation of cell towers, bans them from schools and hospitals

Alka Shukla

     

Posted On Wednesday, August 18, 2010 at 03:12:16 AM

Under pressure from concerned citizens, a top government committee has recommended a complete overhaul of the rules governing cell tower installations in residential areas. The panel, set up earlier this year to examine health hazards caused by mobile towers, has in its report said that all school and hospital premises should be completely radiation-free -- towers should neither be pointed in their direction, nor situated within three metres of them. It has also called for base station antennas to be at least three metres above roof level, and for restricting terrace access to residents whose buildings have towers on their roofs. Laying down 12 ground rules, the committee has suggested that existing mobile towers flouting these norms must be removed within two years. According to a survey by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, there were more than 1,000 such unauthorised towers in the city at last count. “The data that was available to us was limited. No clear scientific co-relation between mobile tower radiation and health hazards has been established but we’ve asked for a detailed study to be carried out. However, we have managed to make certain broad recommendations to address issues that have been raised, giving residents more say,” Valsa Nair Singh, principal secretary, Environment, and a member of the committee, told Mumbai Mirror. Over the last two years, several citizen groups have been voicing their concern on this issue. A section of Ulhasnagar's Panchratna has been struggling to remove cell towers after four residents in the building were diagnosed with cancer. A year ago, a couple in a residential society in Khar fought hard against the installation of mobile towers atop their building. Another year-long fight was on at Usha Kiran, Carmichael Road, where three women in the building, including the wife of former Union Carbide MD Vijay Gokhale, developed cancer. Among its recommendations, the committee, comprising experts and scientists, has said that mobile operators should use common infrastructure, so that the need for individual towers is reduced. It has asked the operators to make presentations on the ill-effects of the towers to residents before they're set up in residential buildings. The service providers have been asked to disclose the level of Electro Magnetic Radiation (EMR) that the public is being exposed to in the vicinity. India is bound by the International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection (INCRP) to stay within limits of base-station emissions. A Mumbai Mirror survey in 2008 had asked Cogent EMR Solutions to measure EMR emitted by cell towers at seven spots in the city. The results had shown alarming levels, which could lead to brain damage, heart problems and a host of other health issues. Another recent survey of six hospitals by Cogent EMR revealed that Bombay, Jaslok, Breach Candy, Nair and Hinduja Hospitals had radiation levels seven times the safety limits, making them high-risk areas. The levels at S L Raheja Hospital were two to six times the acceptable limits. About 70 out of 115 spots mapped in the survey fell in high-risk category. When contacted, Sachin Ahir, Minister of State for Environment, said the government will examine the report and formulate a policy based on it. "Once a detailed policy is framed, a holistic approach can be adopted to address the issue," he said. "This report is important because many people have raised concerns. Almost half the towers in the city are unauthorised."