State to nix cell towers on schools, hospitals

Times of India - 7 June 2011, Page 1

Mumbai: Taking a cue from the widespread concern about mobile towers installed on school and hospital buildings, the Maharashtra government is all set to amend the Development Control (DC) Rules in this regard. Of the 1,600 mobile towers in Mumbai, nearly 500 (or 30%) are atop schools and hospitals. The remaining are on private or commercial buildings. “Since fears have been expressed about the radiation from mobile towers, we are readying to remove them from school and hospital buildings,” a senior official told TOI on Monday. “Once the DC rules are amended, it will be mandatory for the operators to remove the towers within six months.”

As per the proposed amendment, the operator will have to submit a certificate stating that the emission is within the permissible level and an undertaking that the existing tower will be removed within six months. “New Delhi has already imposed stringent restrictions on mobile towers. We have proposed that they should be at least six metres away from a school or hospital and that the radar should not face the school or hospital,” the official said. The proposed measures will be implemented by the concerned civic corporation.