Mobile phone tower norms can’t be stricter in new policy: BMC

The civic body’s revised policy on the installation of mobile phone towers is unlikely to fully address Mumbaiites’ concerns about the effect of radiation on health, Reetika Subramanian reports.

The civic body’s revised policy on the installation of mobile phone towers is unlikely to fully address Mumbaiites’ concerns about the effect of radiation on health.

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The BMC may have invited citizens’ suggestions on its draft policy, but officials said lack of “conclusive evidence” on the correlation between health problems and the proximity to a mobile tower will make it tough to bring in more restrictions.

Activists want a greater distance between the towers and educational institutes and hospitals than the 3m recommended, among other things.

“There is circumstantial evidence on the correlation between the incidence of cancer and proximity to a tower, but there is nothing conclusive,” said a BMC official. “Issuing city-specific restrictions on the installations will be difficult.”

Professor Girish Kumar from the department of electrical engineering, IIT Bombay, said many scientific studies done globally have listed the hazards. “How do authorities explain the surge in cancer cases in houses exposed to radiation?”

“Continuous exposure is dangerous. Effects could range from genetic damage to malignancy,” said Dr Ashish Mehta, neurosurgeon, Breach Candy hospital.