Bangalore
Mirror: Bangalore: Tuesday, 30 September 2014.
When residents of Koramangala 4th block woke up one morning to see the construction of a mobile tower very
near their homes, they did not dismiss it as just another ugly concrete
structure that dot building terraces in the city. They wanted to make sure that
the telecom had obtained approvals from the civic agencies. As expected, it was
not easy as the bureaucracy gave them the cold-shoulder.
After a series of applications filed under the
Right to Information Act (RTI) and back-and-forth mails, finally BDA (Bangalore
Development Authority) and BBMP (Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike)
authorities confirmed in writing that neither agency had sanctioned the
construction.
So that left the tower, nine-metre tall, all 800 kg of steel and concrete, atop the fourth floor of a residential building
on a 30 x 40-square feet site, exactly No. 364, 8th main road, ST Bed Layout. Residents were also aghast when they came to
know that there was no law guiding the erection and operation of mobile towers.
Despite these setbacks, they were able to salvage something: armed with the
civic agency replies, and a little help from the police, they ensured the
antenna wasn't mounted and the tower wasn't activated.
HEALTH WORRIES WERE A TRIGGER :
C H Ram, a resident, narrated the sequence of
events, "We were agitated when construction began in a residential area.
Studies have shown that in the long run, radiation is a health hazard. We were
quite sure it was illegal as it was coming up on the fourth floor of a house on
a 30 x 40-square feet site." Ram and another neighbour, K Vaidyanathan, then
decided on the RTI route.
Their persistence paid off when in July last week,
BBMP's executive engineer (OFC Cell) gave it in writing that the said telecom
had not obtained a licence. The BDA too replied stating the firm had not
applied for commencement certificate for erection of the base transceiver
station. In 2005, the Urban Development Department had sent out a loosely-worded circular
with a few riders for telecoms to follow, which no one is aware of. In fact, in
December 2013, chief minister Siddaramaiah had said in the assembly that installation of
terrace-mounted mobile towers won't be allowed in school and hospital premises.
"Initially, the authorities didn't respond. So we took the RTI route. Once
we were sure about the status, we approached the police. Though the tower
construction was completed, its commissioning was stopped," explained
Vaidyanathan.
The RTI reply said there are about 5,000 mobile towers in the city, and their numbers are on the rise due to the 4G rollout. As per rules, BBMP has to issue the licence based on the
commencement certificate issued by BDA for constructing the base station.