Telecom Lead India: A civil court in Kalyan, Maharashtra, has dismissed a petition against Indus Towers for setting up mobile tower, saying that plaintiffs could prove neither the illegality of the act nor the alleged health hazards.
The petition was filed by two shop owners from New Mayurdarshan Society against Indus Towers which was erecting a tower nearby.
Judge DD Kurulkar turned down the plea in the absence of any evidence that erection of mobile tower and base centre was illegal or violated any law.
The court said that on the basis of WHO report on the radiation from mobile towers, and as per a committee of experts constituted by the government earlier, there is no substance in the argument that emissions from mobile towers are hazardous.
The COAI statement said the order vindicated the industry’s long-standing position that mobile towers and base stations comply with safety, environmental and health norms prescribed by the government.
COAI said recently the Government of India has adopted most stringent safety guidelines for EMF exposure which is 1/10th of the ICNIRP standards (which is considered to be the safest in the world with over 90 percent of the countries having adopted the ICNIRP guidelines).
At the same time, the Government has also acknowledged that there is no conclusive evidence that can link EMF emissions from Mobile base stations to health hazards and that the lowering of exposure limits is a precautionary measure.
“The industry has always been compliant with norms related to exposure limits and will continue to work actively along with the Department of Telecom to ensure that compliance is maintained in this area,” said Rajan S Mathews, director general, COAI.
“We are hopeful that our partnership with the government, with civic bodies and citizens will continue to assuage the concerns that the public have regarding the health effects of EMF emissions from mobile towers and ensure that they are informed of the true scientific facts on the matter and be assured that their safety is being safeguarded with utmost sincerity and priority by the industry,” Mathews added.
