Telecom towers banned near educational institutions

Now telecom operators in the state cannot install telecom towers in and around (within 100 meters of) educational, religious and health care institutions according to the Special Regulation for Installation of Telecom Towers in Urban Area of Odisha-2013 notified by the state Housing and Urban Development (H&UD) department.

The new set of regulations, to exercise control over the installation of telecom towers on roof top or ground level in urban local bodies and urban areas in the state, will be applicable to all the existing and proposed telecom towers installed or to be installed.

For setting up of mobile towers in the prohibited areas, in case unavoidable, the regulations has set guidelines for service providers to follow the distance with respect to the specific heights.

Alternatively, the operators will have to a produce safety certificate from Telecom Enforcement Resource and Monitoring (TERM) Cell mentioning that all general public areas are within safe EMF exposure limits as per peak traffic measurement after the antenna(s) start radiating.

It is said that the telecom towers should be located on the vacant lands to the extent possible.

If locating the base station and antenna in residential area is unavoidable, the service providers will have to identify the building which is in design stage and plan the erection of base station and antenna above such buildings by taking into account the load of such high tower in the design and planning from the beginning.

The regulations also ask service providers to explore the possibility of multiple users of single tower.

The contracts of the existing telecom towers, especially, in the residential areas and the towers located near to educational, religious and health care institutions, shall not be renewed if they are not confirming the new rules. "But for continuance up to completion of existing contracts, they (operators) shall be required to produce the safety clearance certificate from TERM Cell.

No permission will be accorded for installation of towers within 100 metres of high security zones and buildings, within 300 meters radius of a monument declared by Archaeological Survey of India or state archaeology and zones where natural drainage is located and where local administration has imposed restriction, among others.

"Government after careful consideration has been pleased to formulate a regulation for installation of Telecom Towers in Urban Area of Odisha with a view to create healthy and congenial atmosphere for the well-being and convenience of general public", read the H&UD department notification.