What an Idea, MLA-ji!

Based on RTI reply, BJP MLC questions why a particular telecom company was allowed to set up mobile towers at MLA hostels at no cost

What an Idea, MLA-ji!

Based on RTI reply, BJP MLC questions why a particular telecom company was allowed to set up mobile towers at MLA hostels at no cost

While housing societies across the city are minting lakhs by allowing telecom companies to set up cellular towers on their buildings' terraces, the state government has been unusually generous to a particular telco by allowing it to allegedly erect towers atop two MLA hostels in the city at no cost.

MiD DAY is in possession of RTI documents which confirm that cellular
towers and antennas have been installed atop the Manora and Akashvani
MLA hostel buildings in the Nariman Point area. Pic/Bipin Kokate

MiD DAY is in possession of RTI documents which confirm that cellular towers and antennas have been installed atop the Manora and Akashvani MLA hostel buildings in the Nariman Point area. The documents, relating to a June 23, 2010, agreement between the Public Works Department and Idea Cellular Limited, were accessed by BJP MLC Vinod Tawde and BJP activist Pramod Bhosale.

The agreement mentions a bank guarantee of Rs 1 lakh, but makes no mention of rent being charged for the towers. According to the agreement, the towers and antennas are meant to improve cellphone services for the MLAs and will not be used for customers from outside the hostels.

"How can they approve the setting up of a cellular tower atop the MLA hostels when they are yet to completely study the ill effects of the radiation emitted? Aren't they worried about the health of the MLAs? Besides, what was the haste in approving the erection of towers of only one company and, that too, without charging any rent?" asked Tawde.

Girish Kumar, professor of electrical engineering at IIT Mumbai, said, "I don't have the specifics, but if it is a dish-like antenna, it will emit much less radiation compared to a regular mobile phone tower as it uses much less power."

Asked what societies charge companies for allowing towers and antennas to be set up, Kumar said, "Societies are paid anywhere from Rs 30,000 to over Rs 1 lakh per month."

Layout approval
While company officials were unwilling to comment on the kind of equipment installed and the frequencies at which they operate, a letter written by Idea Cellular to the executive engineer of the PWD on February 9 this year thanks him for permission to install a mobile tower on the terrace of the B-wing of the Manora hostel.
The letter, written by Tapan Kandalgaonkar, senior manager (NWS), Idea Cellular, goes on to say that the company would be installing GSM and microwave antenna poles on the terrace and requests the executive engineer to approve the layout.

Opposition
Interestingly, the local residents' association discourages and opposes the erection of cellphone towers in and around Nariman Point and Churchgate.u00a0Nariman Point Churchgate Residents' Association's President, Swarn Koli, said, "Cellphones are not so important that we ignore the possibility of the radiation causing brain cancer. As per my knowledge, there are no cellphone towers in and around Nariman Point, Churchgate and Marine Drive. I have no knowledge about the tower erected atop the MLA hostels. We do not have an objection, however, if the cellphone companies adhere to World Health Organisation norms."

R1 lakh
The monthly rent charged by some housing societies for allowing telcos to set up towers on the terrace of their buildings

The Other Side
Legislative Council Chairman Shivajrao Deshmukh said, "I am not aware of permission being granted for erecting the towers. But, if there is any irregularity and if the company is not being charged, I will ask my officials to look into the matter."When contacted, Rajat Mukherjee of Idea Cellular's Corporate Communication wing said, "All our towers are erected in accordance with the guidelines laid down by the Department of Telecommunications. About the commercial terms, I cannot comment off-hand."