The Karnataka government is all set to bring in stringent guidelines to regulate the increase in the number of cellphone towers in residential areas, a report by The New Indian Express said.
Minister for Municipal Administration, Eshwar Khandre, during the assembly session on Tuesday, said that a draft notification had been issued by the government, which contains guidelines on setting up of mobile phone towers in residential areas, media reports suggested.
The minister said that the draft notification had been issued almost a year ago, on February 24, 2016.
The notification sought suggestions and objections from the public regarding the new guidelines.
The final notification would be issued after reviewing the public’s opinion, the TNIE report stated.
Khandre said that many mobile phone towers had been erected without government sanction. He also assured that the government would ensure the towers do not harm the residents of the said areas, the report added.
MLA Khandre was responding to a call attention motion moved by MLA Haris during the assembly.
Haris said that people in residential areas have been exposed to radiation from mobile phone towers, which reportedly cause cancer, memory loss and lowers the sperm count, the report said.
He expressed concern at the alarming rate at which mobile phone towers were mushrooming in residential areas on the pretext of signal boosting.
Khandre assured that once the guidelines are finalised, stringent measures will be taken to enforce them, the report said.