Now, top floor residents' nod must to install mobile tower in Mumbai

Now, a nod from the residents living on the top floor of a building will be mandatory for the installation of mobile towers anywhere in the city. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has revised its mobile tower policy in keeping with the guidelines issued by the Department of Telecommunication (DoT).

Civic officials said that the revision of the BMC’s mobile tower policy came after the DoT issued guidelines regarding the same on August 1. As per the civic body’s policy, the consent of 70% residents of a building was required for telecom companies to install mobile towers on any building in the city.

“Now, this also includes the nod of the rooftop residents of a building, as per the DoT guidelines. It is because the roof top residents live in close proximity of the mobile towers installed on a building, which means that it could have an adverse impact on their health,” said a senior civic official.

As per the policy, a minimum distance of 36 metres must be maintained while installing mobile phone towers on the rooftops of educational institutions and hospitals. The policy also puts a cap on the number of towers that can be erected on a building to two. According to a new survey undertaken by BMC, 3,631 of the 4,776 mobile towers in the metropolis are illegal.

“The revised policy will soon be tabled before the standing committee for approval,” added the official.