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Corporators want higher penalty against illegal mobile towers

Tuesday, 30 November 2010 11:05 administrator
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Indian Express      30.11.2010

Corporators want higher penalty against illegal mobile towers

Express News Service Tags : BMC, unauthorised mobilephone towers Posted: Tue Nov 30 2010, 03:38 hrs

 Mumbai:  Several BMC corporators on Monday, expressing concern over unauthorised mobilephone towers mushrooming in the city — BMC data puts the number at 1,628— recommended heavy penalty against defaulters for regularisation of the towers instead of the Rs 5,000 charged now. One of them also demanded the BMC to place a white paper on possible health hazards from mobile phone towers.

The matter cropped up on Monday at the civic body Improvements Committee meeting. The corporators said this was the only course of action left as the BMC could not demolish the towers as per a State Government directive, and the fine levied at present was too low to act as a deterrent.

“The fine Rs 5000 imposed to regularise each illegal mobile tower is very less. Companies should be charged hefty sums if they want to regularise their towers,” said Manmohan Chonkar, Shiv Sena corporator and Improvements Committee member.

At the Improvement Committee meeting, various phone companies were criticised for erecting illegal mobile towers and the administration came under fire for allowing mushrooming of illegal towers.

“The issue of illegal mobile towers, the resulting health hazards, the easy way with which these companies are able to regularise illegal mobile towers is not being taken seriously by the administration,” said Upendra Doshi, a Congress corporator.

“Whether it is a health hazard for citizens has also not been researched by the BMC and in that case we need to think seriously about regularising illegal towers”, said another corporator. 

According to BMC data, Khar, Bandra, Santacruz, Vile Parle, Andheri and Jogeshwari have over 560 illegal towers. H-East ward (Bandra-Khar East have 96, H-West ward (Bandra West, Khar West and Santacruz West) have 211, and K-East ward (Vile Parle Andheri Jogeshwari ) 261 mobile phone towers that have been erected without civic body permission.

According to Congress Corprorator Vinod Shekhar, “mobile towers are being erected everywhere, and although there is no proof these are a health hazard, is there any guarantee that the administration can give about them being safe?... A white paper or a discussion on issues ranging from the ills of illegal mobile towers, reports from BARC, etc should be made by the BMC...This will help the administration to formulate a proper policy for mobile towers”

 

‘Need stricter norms to avoid illegal cell towers’

Tuesday, 30 November 2010 11:04 administrator
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Hindustan Times  30.11.2010

‘Need stricter norms to avoid illegal cell towers’

The municipal corporation has regularised 1,107 illegal mobile towers since 2007, but without having rigid guidelines in place for those coming up. Civic officials in the improvements committee meeting on Monday said they have regularised 344 illegal mobile towers in the city, 279 in the western suburbs and 484 towers in the eastern suburbs until October.

“The BMC should first come up with guidelines to avoid new illegal towers to come up in the city. Till then, the proposal to regularise these illegal mobile towers will be kept under consideration,” said Manoj Kotak, chairman of the civic improvements committee.

In all, 3,357 mobile towers had sough permission from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) after 2007, and till date 2,250 are yet to get permission.

The members of the improvements committee said that the Rs 5,000 penalty levied on network providers while regularising them was a paltry sum.

They suggested that the corporation increase the penalty to Rs 1 lakh to rein in these errant firms.

Corporators said the BMC should also evaluate health aspects that are linked to the radiations from the towers before granting permission. “The BMC must prepare a white paper, which should include remarks from BARC officials, the pollution control board and other competent health agencies,” suggested Congress corporator Vinod Shekhar.

In 2007, the state government has asked the BMC to initiate action against illegal mobile towers under the Maharashtra Regional And Town Planning Act.

“Till date, the BMC has only taken action against 145 towers and collected a negligible sum of Rs 24,708. Which means for every illegal tower the BMC collected Rs 170.40,” said Manmohan Chonkar, Shiv Sena corporator.

The corporators said that the BMC should fix an age criterion for buildings beyond which installing of towers should not be allowed.

“According to the law, before installing mobile towers the building should get a structural audit done by an engineer. But in most cases this aspect of safety is neglected,” Jagdish Sawant, Sena corporator, pointed out.

Last Updated on Tuesday, 30 November 2010 11:06
 

Heritage body to bring back Mughal glory to city’s gardens

Tuesday, 30 November 2010 10:48 administrator
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Indian Express            30.11.2010

Heritage body to bring back Mughal glory to city’s gardens

Sweta Dutta Tags : heritage, citys gardens Posted: Tue Nov 30 2010, 05:26 hrs

New Delhi:  In an effort to rejuvenate the gardens of Delhi, many of which came up during the Mughal period, the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) is working on a proposal to restore their beauty and grandeur.

The heritage body is in talks with the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to develop three significant Mughal gardens- Shalimar Bagh, Qudsia Bagh and Roshnara Bagh, all in North Delhi.

“Heritage is not a passive activity of conserving monuments but also enhancing the quality of urban spaces. The focus here is to re-vision the public spaces that were once an integral part of Delhi and to resurrect them,” said AGK Menon, Convenor (Delhi Chapter) INTACH.

“We are in the process of finalising the proposal and will present it to the DDA. We did approach the DDA earlier, but with the Commonwealth Games round

Menon also pointed out that the original look of these gardens had altered, due to many changes carried out over time. “The fruit-bearing trees, a distinct feature of Mughal gardens, have been replaced, and lawns, primarily a British import, have been brought in, ruining the original image of the Mughal bagh,” he said.

Priyaleen Singh, a historic landscape expert and an advisor to INTACH on the proposal, told Newsline, “The idea is to restore the spirit of Mughal gardens, rejuvenating the charbagh and other features. Various agencies like the DDA, the MCD and the ASI that have ownership over the plots will be approached for implementing the project.”

 the corner, the plan had to be shelved. This time, however, the proposal is being detailed and a landscape expert has also been roped in.”  The INTACH is also in talks with the Ministry of Culture to initiate the proposal for Heritage City status for Delhi, for which the gardens are a part of the natural heritage.

The Qudsia Bagh,a mid-18th century garden, which once housed a palace, waterfall, a mosque, a summer lodge and a sprawling flower and fruit garden, lost much of its space to the inter-state bus terminus at Kashmere Gate. What remains of it now is an imposing western gateway, Qudsia mosque, Boulevard Road and a few pavilions of red sandstone.

The Roshnara Bagh,a 17th century garden tomb, lies in a shambles today. The British had earlier taken fancy to this once magnificent garden and established the Roshnara Club here.

The Shalimar Bagh,where Aurangzeb crowned himself as the emperor in 1658, too lies in utter neglect, especially the Sheesh Mahal, the fountain network and small wells.

Last Updated on Tuesday, 30 November 2010 10:51
 
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