Over 4,000 mobile towers installed illegally in Delhi

Municipal corporations to take action against these structures

Over 4,000 mobile towers installed in areas under the jurisdiction of the three municipal corporations in Delhi are illegal, according to official figures.

Among the three civic bodies, maximum illegal structures have been found in areas falling under the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), at 2,537.

SDMC has 3,670 mobile towers in its area, with the illegal structures among them comprising nearly 70% of the total, leaving just 1,133 of them as legally-installed.

SDMC has four zones - South, Central, West and Najafgarh - and maximum number of illegal towers have been found in the Central Zone (1,108), the SDMC said. Central Zone also has maximum number of mobile towers - 1,377.

In areas under the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC), close to half of the 2,539 mobile towers are installed illegally.

NDMC has six zones -- Rohini, Narela, Civil Lines, Sadar Paharganj, Karol Bagh and City. Rohini Zone has the largest number of mobile towers (778) while City Zone, with 184 such towers, has the fewest.

The number of legally-installed towers in the six zones is 1,255 -- Rohini (163), Narela (132), Civil Lines (353), Sadar Paharganj (145), Karol Bagh (282) and City (184).

Among the 1,284 illegally installed towers in the six zones, Rohini has the maximum of such structures, 615, while City Zone has just four of them. The number of legally-installed towers stands at 1,255, the NDMC's Standing Committee said during its recent meeting.

According to a senior official of the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC), "Nearly 1,300 mobile towers have been surveyed during our inspection and 260 of them were found to be illegally installed."

All three corporations, however, are carrying out sealing drives against illegal mobile towers and officials said, the action against such structures will continue.

"The corporation has decided to take action such illegal towers and necessary directions have been issued to all zonal offices," a senior SDMC official said.

The number of illegally installed towers in SDMC's other zones are - South (768), West (511) and Najafgarh (150), according to a recent report of the corporation.