Bill on tax on telecom towers and ad structures deferred

The Karnataka Legislative Assembly today deferred by a day a bill to levy tax on telecom towers and advertisement structures, after the opposition demanded a comprehensive bill incorporating health and environmental hazards which such installations would cause.
The government had tabled the Karnataka Municipalities and Certain Other Law (Amendment) Bill 2014, which empowers Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) seeking to levy the tax, on December 13 here.
The single bench of Karnataka High Court had given its verdict that the ULBs did not have powers to impose the tax after Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike had taken steps to impose it in 2010 to collect Rs 12,000 per month from each tower.

However, a divisional bench of the High Court set aside the single-bench order and allowed BBMP and other ULBs to collect the tax after bringing in amendments to the Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act and Karnataka Municipalities Act.
Raising the issue, BJP member and former Law and Parliamentary Minister Suresh Kumar said the proposed bill should be withheld because it talks about imposition of the tax, but does not address the hazards installation of telecom towers would cause to human beings and environment.
Kumar said many telecom towers have cropped up on buildings in violation of construction bye laws, causing various health and environmental hazards.

He also sought an amendment to the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act to impose conditions to examine the strength and structural aspects of the building before permission is given for installation of telecom towers on buildings.

Drawing the attention of Law and Parliamentary Minister T B Jayachandra, BJP MLAs Ravi Subramanya and C T Ravi said the installation of telecom towers was causing serious threat to the environment and birds.
"We are not seeing birds quite often nowadays because of these towers," Ravi said.
Jayachandra said the government would bring the bill tomorrow after incorporating the suggestions pertaining to health and environmental hazards made by the members.