Shimla: With 152 mobile phone towers in Shimla city alone operating without proper authorization from municipal authorities and the 2006 policy guidelines inadequate to regulate such installations, the government was coming out with a detailed guideline for ensuring certain norms were adhered to, Mohinder Singh, minister for urban development let the Himachal assembly know today.
Replying to a question by Kaul Singh (Cong) during question hour, the minister said that the new guidelines under preparation would prohibit mobile towers from being erected within 10 metres of schools and hospitals.
In residential areas they would be allowed only after a no objection certificates from residents of adjoining buildings and that too after it had been ascertained that the foundation and construction of the building was strong enough to take the weight of the tower.
Mohinder Singh said that the guidelines set out in 2006 for putting up of mobile towers within the Shimla Municipal Corporation area were directionless and not elaborate enough, with no specific provisions. The government would be coming out with new guidelines shortly to overcome the deficiencies that are being faced, he said.
Efforts would be to put up these towers on forest or vacant land and fees for their installation and renewal would also been increased.
There are 152 mobile towers operating within the Shimla Municipal Corporation area without permission of the competent authority and no tower had either been removed or had any penalty been imposed, he added.
As Editor, Ravinder Makhaik leads a team of media professionals at Hill Post.
Spanning a career of over two decades in mass communication, as a Documentary Filmmaker, TV journalist, Print Media journalist and with Online & Social Media, he brings with him a vast experience. He lives in Shimla.
