Noida trade body seeks six months to shift cell towers

Times of India: Noida: Monday, 09 February 2015.

Entrepreneurs have demanded a window period of six months to relocate mobile phone towers in the city.

Batting for mobile tower operators, Vipin Malhan, president of the Noida Entrepreneurs Association, said that abrupt dismantling of the towers in Noida could lead to serious and lasting communication problems for residents.

"The operators of mobile towers are our members, they obtained the present locations of their towers through proper leasing. A sudden order to dismantle the towers will not only hamper the industry, but also hurt the residents of Noida," said Malhan.

Welcoming the Noida Authority's decision to relocate the towers, Malhan said that once new spots are identified and allocated for each tower, the operators would shift the towers but six months would be needed to complete the process.

Malhan said the maximum number of mobile towers were located in the business districts of the cities, on top of factories and office buildings.

Meanwhile, green activists of Noida have demanded that from now onwards all mobile towers should be set up after obtaining environmental and pollution board clearances as is the norm elsewhere.

"Through an RTI, we have found that none of the mobile towers in Noida region have the necessary environmental clearances for installation and operation. When the Noida Authority relocates these towers, environmental clearance should be made mandatory for these towers," Vikrant Tongad, who runs an NGO, Social Action for Forest and Environment, said.

Tongad added that according to the RTI response, there were 216 tower applications still awaiting approval of the Noida Authority.

Noida's residents, however, are happy with the order seeking relocation of mobile towers.

"We have been pressing for this. People are now aware of the health hazards which are caused by the radiation of these towers," said NP Singh, president of the Federation of Noida Residents Welfare Association (FONRWA).

Singh demanded that the towers be shifted to a safe distance from residences, schools and hospitals.