Health-hazard call wakes up BMC

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has finally decided to frame rules for mobile towers on the terrace of residential buildings. The BMC woke up after it was flooded with complaints about the towers causing health hazards.

“Several people approached the BMC, urging it to ban cellphone towers on terraces. The radiations emitted by the towers cause health problems. So, the BMC felt the need to chalk out a policy to regulate these mobile towers in the city,” municipal commissioner Swadhin Kshatriya said.

The civic body is framing rules that will decide the location of mobile towers and their number in residential areas. The BMC will also check the stability of the structure where the tower is going to be set up.

“Health problems due to the radiations are a big worry. We will take that into account while framing the policy. If a mobile tower is illegal and is found hazardous for health or dangerous for the building, it will be demolished,” Kshatriya added.

Meanwhile, the state government’s health department has appointed a high-power committee to investigate the health hazards posed by cellphone towers atop residential buildings.
BJP corporator Dyanmurti Sharma had counted the mobile towers recently with the help of his party workers and complained to the BMC. “Currently, there are more than 4,000 mobile towers in the city,” said Sharma “If the BMC allows the towers by charging them, it will generate revenue,” he said.

Rahul Naik, a resident of Bell Heaven, Andheri, recently complained to the BMC about the mobile tower erected on the terrace of his building.

“The BMC has to take a firm decision on whether to allow such towers on terraces of residential buildings. All such towers, erected without the permission of the civic body, flout rules. To protect citizens from any health hazards, the BMC has to demolish all such mobile towers,” he had demanded in the letter. BMC to decide location, number of mobile towers in residential areas.