RWAs get no say in MCD’s new cellphone tower policy

Installation of a mobile tower atop a building in Delhi will no longer require permission from the RWAs. This follows amendments in the cell phone tower policy passed by the MCD’s standing committee on Thursday.

Installation of a mobile tower atop a building in Delhi will no longer require permission from the RWAs. This follows amendments in the cell phone tower policy passed by the MCD’s standing committee on Thursday.

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The meeting also decided that from now on, only regularised buildings would have such towers. According to earlier policy, such structures could be installed on unauthorised buildings also.

In case of residential buildings, permission from RWAs was mandatory. The MCD had, on February 9, unveiled a new policy on mobile towers.

As per the revised guidelines, the amount payable by the service providers to MCD to instal a tower has been hiked from the present Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh.

The MCD said all municipal buildings, including community centres, would get priority for site selection for new mobile towers. Such structures will also be allowed in other government buildings, commercial and institutional buildings and vacant land after clearance from concerned authority.

Erection of cell towers on residential buildings will only be allowed if there is no alternative. Officials said out of 5,364 towers in the city, only 2,412 have requisite permission and the remaining 2,952 were illegal.