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Journalism of Courage
Ninety mobile phone base transmitting stations (BTS) in Mumbai exceed the new electromagnetic radiation limit,according to data from the Ministry of Telecommunications and IT,Department of Telecommunications (DoT).
Showcause notices to levy penalty has been issued to service providers concerned in 72 of these cases. While status has been updated till March 3,2013,more BTSs are being examined based on initial reports to determine non-compliance.
As per the new norms,which came into effect from September 2012,EMF (electromagnetic field) radiation levels cannot exceed 450 milliwatt per square metre,down from the earlier 4,500 milliwatts per square metre.
Last year in October,Minister of State for Communications and IT and Shipping Milind Deora had launched a complaint handling system for EMF radiation from mobile towers operational in Mumbai telecom circle. Citizens could also register complaints through a helpline. Since then,400 complaints have been registered from Mumbai. According to department sources,around 300 complaints have been examined leading to the discovery that 90 were crossing radiation norms.
The 90 BTSs belong to major service providers including Vodafone (18),Airtel (13),RCoM (16),Aircel (7),Idea Cellular (6),TTML (13),Loop (8),Videocon (2),MTNL (1) and Uninor (6). According to details available,the areas include Kanjurmarg (East),Vikhroli (West),Chembur,Kemps Corner,Jogeshwari (East),Andheri (East),Andheri (West),Vile Parle (East),Dadar (West) and corner of S V P Road and Chowpatty seaface.
When contacted,Rajan Mathews,director general of the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI),said: As of now,none of our members (telecom service providers) has told us about being issued any notice for non-compliance of EMF radiation limits.
Complainants can get the site tested by paying Rs 4,000 to Telecommunications Consultants India Ltd (TCIL). In case of non-compliance of radiation standards,a penalty of Rs 5 lakh is liable to be levied per BTS for each service provider.
The BTS sites,against which there are public complaints,are tested by the Telecom Enforcement Resource and Monitoring (TERM) cell along with TCIL. Defaulting service providers have to meet the criterion within one month of the report.
Five mobile BTSs in Bangalore were also found exceeding radiation limits and showcause notices for levy of a total penalty of Rs 25 lakh were issued to four service providers. Six cases were detected in Himachal Pradesh and penalty was imposed on erring telecom service providers as per DoT instructions.
These service providers in Himachal Pradesh were asked to ensure compliance with radiation norms,which they subsequently did.
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