The Corporation Council has decided to rethink the proposal of
Reliance Jio Infocom Limited and Indus Towers Limited for setting up
high-mast lights, WiFi and 4G facility in various centres in the city.

The
finance standing committee of the corporation had decided to permit the
two companies to set up high-mast multi-purpose towers at road
junctions, playgrounds and parks within the corporation jurisdiction by
levying a rent of Rs. 5,000 per tower per month.

However,
when the decision was put before the council for approval, the
opposition raised objections. Congress councillor P.M. Niyas suggested
that the corporation should invite an expression of interest in the case
and that Rs. 5,000 per tower was very low for such a facility. Hence
the council sent it back to the standing committee for further
proceedings.

Earlier, the corporation cancelled the scheduled
foundation stone-laying function of the water treatment plant under
Kudumbasree’s ‘Theertham’ project on TB centre premises on Francis Road.
Many residents associations in the region had complained to the
corporation that such a facility would lead to severe water scarcity in
the region, already hit by drought. They opposed the plan to dig a well
in the plot to extract groundwater, to be purified and bottled to be
sold under the aegis of the Kudumbasree.