BMC says no towers within 100 m of schools,hospitals; state proposes easing it to 3 m

In a October 19 letter,MP Milind Deora,who is also the Minister of State for Communications,Information Technology and Shipping,has brought this and similar disparities to the notice of Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan. He said the state UDD’s notice ignores the revised DoT guidelines and final draft policy guidelines of BMC. “… (This) has sent out wrong signals to Mumbaikars and the people of Maharashtra,which I am sure you will appreciate,” Deora wrote.

The MP from South Mumbai — which has been the most vocal in opposing ‘rampant’ spread of mobile towers — has urged the state to either incorporate the DoT’s revised guidelines and final draft of the civic body “in toto” in the gazette notification of the UDD or “allow each local body to formulate its own guidelines after approval from their respective councils”.

The DoT had issued revised guidelines on August 1 regarding the installation of towers after discussions with stakeholders,including citizen groups of Mumbai. Based on these,the BMC issued the final draft guidelines on September 11. “These guidelines were comprehensive and covered the nuances for a city like Mumbai,having high population density and high rise buildings,” Deora pointed out.

To incorporate a “comprehensive regulation” on mobile towers,the state published a notice on October 3 and invited suggestions/objections from the public.

The state notice retains a key guideline mentioned in both DoT and BMC policy guidelines — that in case of both ground-based towers and roof-top towers,there will be no building in front of the antennae of equivalent height.

Citizen groups met state government officials recently. “We informed them that the state has not included DoT and BMC guidelines. We have been assured that they will rectify this,” said Prakash Munshi,a south Mumbai resident.

mihika.basu@expressindia.com