'Telecom tower regulations should be more stringent'

The Directorate of Municipal Administration’s (DMA) latest regulations on mobile  phone towers have not gone down well with some quarters, which feel that the department should have come out with more stringent rules to check the mushrooming of such towers.

The DMA, in its order, has observed that telecom towers are a threat to the environment, human beings, birds and animals and, therefore it was issuing a set of regulations.

Former bureaucrat and the advisor to the Chief Minister on urban affairs, Dr A Ravindra, said he would not like the telecom towers in residential areas while referring to the argument of telecom firms that connectivity would be affected if towers are removed from residential areas. He also ridiculed the clause in the DMA guidelines that the permission of the building owners will be a must for erecting towers.

Dr Ravindra  said: “It is a known thing that without the permission of the building/land owners no structure can be put up on their properties. There has been a hue and cry by the environmentalists against the mushrooming of telecom towers and there is a need to check it.”

B M Shivakumar of Jayaprakash Narayan Vichara Vedike, who has been pressing for strict rules to check mushrooming of telecom towers, said the DMA order makes a “mockery of the public outcry” against setting up of telecom towers in residential areas and near schools, colleges, hospitals, defence establishments and research institutes.

“Seeking permission of the owner of the building is anyway mandatory. The DMA should have made obtaining the permission of the neighbours compulsory,” said Shivakumar.

Former chairperson of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) A S Sadashivaiah said some studies have pointed to the adverse effects of the radiation by telecom towers. But, they are not definite or conclusive studies. There are certain gaps in such studies.

The KSPCB should take the lead and conduct a detailed study on the issue. He said the effects of generators powering telecom towers must also be looked into.

The Urban Development department Principal Secretary Bharatlal Meena said the DMA had passed the order following complaints and, it could be revised if there were any shortcomings in it.