Madras High Court suggests Trai could look into alternate technologies for mobile towers

There are different technologies available in some countries, whereby necessity of erecting towers can be dispensed with, says Court

The Madras high court has suggested the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) to consider deploying technologies being followed overseas in order to avoid erection of towers within human settlements.

The court observed the Trai could consider deploying them for transmitting telecom signals in the country.The court's observation came in relation to an appeal filed by Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd against an order of the assistant collector of the Virudhunagar district in relation to erection of mobile towers.

The order comes after the court, in March this year, dealt with a similar petition relating to the safety issues associated with erection of mobile phone towers in the vicinity of the human settlements.

The principal bench, comprising of Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice S Manikumar, said, “We may, however, state it is given to understand that there are different technologies now available in some countries, whereby the necessity of erecting towers can be dispensed with either taking underground cables or otherwise.”

“This is a matter for the Trai and the Union government to examine. We thus request the said Authority to look into this aspect and the possibility of the same in India,” said the bench.

The petition was disposed of in the terms of the orders passed by the principal bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice MM Sundresh in March, 2015, on writ petitions under public interest litigation seeking the court to direct the government authorities and various telecom firms to formulate rules, regulations and guidelines to erect mobile phone towers only in vacant lands taking into consideration proper structural standards, WHO’s tower radiation specifications.

Considering the petition, the principal bench observed that none of the petitioners had any conclusive material to show such ill-effects of radiation from the mobile phone towers. The court also took into account observations of the division bench of Kerala high court in a similar matter, which pointed to the findings of a committee under the chairmanship of NK Ganguly, the then director general of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

The committee was constituted by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, following the directions of a division bench of Bombay high court in a petition filed in 2004 to conduct a scientific study.