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HC notice to Centre on PIL against mobile towersChennai, Oct 20, 2008 (Asia Pulse Data Source via COMTEX) -- Madras High Court today issued notices to the Centre, the Telecommunication Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), BSNL and private cellular operators on a petition seeking a direction to stop erection of communication towers atop buildings in populated areas. A Division Bench, comprising Chief Justice A K Ganguly and Justice F M Ibrahim Kalifulla, ordered notices returnable by three weeks. In his public interest litigation petition, "Traffic" K R Ramaswamy submitted that the telecom towers of over 20 feet height erected by mobile operators atop many old and new buildings in thickly populated areas were not designed to withstand the forces of nature. "If these towers fall down it will certainly take hundreds of life. The towers also emit electromagnetic and microwave radiation causing very serious health hazards, including brain tumours, nervous disorders and cancer," he claimed. "I submit that these mobile telecom operators violate laws of the land, including violation of the fundamental rights of a citizen to live in a healthy environment," he contended. |