Policy on mobile towers in three months, says minister

To minimise the impact of mobile towers on the humans and the environment, the state government has decided to formulate a policy, that will come into force in the next three months.

Minister for Urban Development and Housing U T Khader said, registration of the mobile tower with the local body authority is mandatory and the owners of the land, where the tower is being set up must pay property tax.

The approval by a recognised structural engineer is a must if the tower is being installed atop the building. In addition, no noisy generators can be used to supply power to the tower, and the towers must be 50 metres away from schools, hospitals and the places of worship, he said.

District-level and the state-level redressal committees will be constituted to monitor the towers. While respective deputy commissioners will head the committee at the district-level, Urban Secretary will be the head for the state-level committee, he said.

According to the minister, there are around 26,000 towers in the state and the exact numbers are yet to be ascertained.

The draft policy is finalised and it will be implemented in three months. Even the existing towers must comply with the new policy, he said.