Bar on mobile towers

Housing societies will now have to get consent from 70 per cent of its members before they seek permission to set up mobile towers on their premises.

Housing societies will now have to get consent from 70 per cent of its members before they seek permission to set up mobile towers on their premises.

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Also, educational institutes and hospitals will not be allowed to install mobile towers on their premises.

"We are making changes in the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning (MRTP) Act to ensure that people think about the environment and health issues and not economic gain when they give permission to set up mobile towers," said Sachin Ahir, minister of state for housing, at the legislative council on Monday.

He was replying to a concern raised by Shiv Sena legislator Deepak Sawant on the growing number of mobile towers mushrooming across the city and its adverse impact on the environment and health.

"These towers emit electromagnetic radiations ranging from 4,500 to 6,000 megawatts. A recent survey revealed that this has an adverse impact on mental health and our DNA. Housing societies are paid Rs 2 lakh to set up mobile towers and, hence, they agree," said Sawant.

Sawant added that of the 5,364 mobile towers set stop buildings in the city, at least 2,900 are illegal.

According to the existing MRTP rules, if the mobile companies adhere to the rules and get a structural stability certificate and a no-objection certificate from the housing society, where the tower is to be installed, only then can they install it there. The state government is identifying the illegal mobile towers in the city and soon get them removed, Ahir added.