Residents protest setting up of mobile tower in Noida’s Sector 122

Noida: Residents have been protesting against the setting up of a mobile tower that has been installed in the green belt in sector 122

Noida: Residents have been protesting against the setting up of a mobile tower that has been installed in the green belt in sector 122. While residents claimed that it was within 100 metres of residential areas and the Noida Authority was informed about it, they added on Monday that about 20 trees were also cut without permission for the purpose.

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Residents have also appealed to the Allahabad High Court to get the mobile tower removed as it too close to residential areas.

“There are already two such towers in our sector that are very close to residential plots. This is the third such tower in about 30-40 metres’ distance from the closest house. We definitely don’t need it and the radiations will only cause health issues for residents. The authority has been turning a blind eye to all our complaints,” said Umesh Sharma, resident of Sector 122.

Residents alleged that no public notice was issued to change the land use of the green belt to allow the mobile tower. This is illegal and was done so that no objections could be raised, say residents. Additionally, the ground work was done and the tower was installed within a night to ensure minimum resistance.

Meanwhile, forest department officials said that the matter is being investigated. “We were informed about the felling of trees only on Monday morning. We will seek a response from the Noida Authority and get the issue checked on ground,” said PK Srivastava, divisional forest officer.

Noida Authority officials, on the other hand, claimed that there was no illegality with the installation of the new mobile towers and that all documents and responses will be provided to the court.

“Noida Authority’s policy is that mobile towers can only come up on green belts as per norms. Following the protests, we got all the parameters checked, including distance from residential areas and other legalities. Everything is order so far and no trees have been cut illegally. People need to understand that with growing need for better network, mobile towers will need to be increased in the city,” said Indu Prakash, officer on special duty, Noida Authority.