What’s the govt doing on mobile tower radiation, SC asks Centre

NEW DELHI: The Centre has to inform the Supreme Court within two weeks on the steps taken to combat risks that mobile towers pose, through radiations, on public

NEW DELHI: The Centre has to inform the Supreme Court within two weeks on the steps taken to combat risks that mobile towers pose, through radiations, on public health, especially in densely populated areas.

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A bench headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur on Monday directed the government to explain why it has turned a blind eye to the ill-effects caused by the mobile towers despite a Parliamentary Committee report in 2015 commenting against it.

The Centre purportedly gave the mobile companies a clean chit by relying on the “self certification” granted the telecom operators grant through their own research findings.

“There should be a mechanism where a citizen himself should be in a position to know whether a particular tower is emitting radiation ”, the bench told the Centre while hearing a petition in which residents of Vasant Kunj in Delhi have sought an in junction against the companies from installing towers in residential areas or near educational institutions.

Another poser to the Centre is whether the telecom operators have violated any guidelines and standards. If yes then what action has the government taken against them.