ADVISORY GUIDELINES
FOR STATE GOVERNMENTS FOR
ISSUE OF
CLEARANCE FOR INSTALLATION OF MOBILE TOWERS
(Effective from 01.08.2013)
1.
The Indian telecom sector
has witnessed phenomenal growth and mobile telephony in particular has
revolutionized in the country over the past decade. Providing telephone
coverage across the country has been one of DoT’s top priority areas. Out of 921 million connections, 891 million
are wireless, as on May 2013. The popularity of cell phone and wireless
communication devices has resulted in a proliferation of cell towers across the
country.
2. Fixation of
standards for exposure limits of radio frequency field emissions from mobile
base stations, monitoring their compliance, all radiation related technical
issues, issues of Access Service Licence / Infrastructure Provider registration
and SACFA clearance for frequency allocation at any location are dealt with by
DoT.
3. India has adopted
strict limit for radiation from Base Transceiver Station (BTS), as below, which
is 1/10th of the International norms (ICNIRP):
|
Frequency in MHz
|
Power density limit
|
|
900
|
0.45 watt/m2
|
|
1800
|
0.9 watt/m2
|
|
2100
and above
|
1 watt/m2
|
4. Broad guidelines
for issue of clearance for installation of mobile phone towers were issued on 23.08.2012
and later modified on 26.03.2013. Subsequently, on the basis of feedback
received after deliberations made with the state government officials and various
stake holders on 16.04.2013 and holding further consultations thereafter, the
guidelines have been finalized for the state governments. These are detailed in
A and B below.These guidelines are issued in supersession of all earlier guidelines
on the subject.
A.
Documents
to be submitted by Telecom Service Providers/ Infrastructure Providers for
obtaining clearance from local bodies / state governments for installation of
mobile towers:
I.
Copy of relevant
license / Infrastructure Provider Registration Certificate from Department of
Telecommunications.
II.
Data Sheet
a)
Name of
Service/Infrastructure Provider
b)
Location
c)
Tower Reference:
i) Height, ii) Weight iii) Ground/Roof Topiv) Pole/wall mounted
v) Number of antennae
III.
Copy of SACFA
clearance / copy of SACFA application for the said location submitted to WPC
wing of DoT with registration number as WPC acknowledgement alongwith
undertaking that in case of any objection/ rejection, TSPs/ IPs will take
corrective actions / remove the tower.
IV.
Copy of
structural stability certificate for ground based tower. In case of roof top
BTS towers, structural stability certificate for the building and tower based
on written approvals of any authorized Structural Engineer of state/local
bodies/Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), Roorkee/ IIT/NIT or any
other agency authorized by local body.
V.
Copy of the type
test certificate issued by Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) to
the manufacturers of the Diesel Generator (DG) Sets.
VI.
Copy of clearance
from Fire Safety Department only in case for high rise buildings where Fire
Clearance is mandatory.
VII.
For forest
protected areas, the copy of clearance from State Environment & Forest
Department, if applicable.
VIII.
The local bodies
may also seek submission of the copy of No Objection Certificate (NOC) from
Building Owner/entities having roof top rightsor roof top tenants in case of
roof based tower/ land owner in case of ground based tower, as the case may be.As
per their rules in force, State Governments, at their discretion, may seek
fresh NOC at the time of renewal of site (tenancy) contract for mobile tower.
IX.
Acknowledgement receipt
issued by TERM Cells (DoT) of the self-certificate submitted by Telecom Service
Provider/ Infrastructure Provider in respect of mobile tower/ BTS (ground
based/ roof top/ Pole/ wall mounted) in the format as prescribed by TEC, DoT,
establishing / certifying that all General Public areas around the tower will
be within safe EMR exposure limit as per peak traffic measurement after the
antennae starts radiating.
B. Action
by State government/Local body
I.
Nominal one time
Administrative Fee as may be decided by the State Government to recover its
costs on the issue of permission for installation of Tower.
II.
Single Window
Clearance may be provided in a time bound manner to telecom service provider /
infrastructure provider by the local body / State Government. This will ensure
issuance of faster clearances.
III.
Telecom towers
have been given infrastructure status by Government of India vide gazette
notification no 81 dated 28.03.2012. All benefits, as applicable to
infrastructure industry, should be extended. Electricity connection may be provided to BTS site on priority.
IV.
Telecom installations are lifeline
installations and a critical infrastructure in mobile communication. In order
to avoid disruption in mobile communication, an essential service, sealing of
BTS towers / disconnection of electricity may not be resorted to without the
consent of the respective TERM Cell of DoT in respect of the EMF related issues.
V.
State Governments
along with DoT may organise public awareness programmes involving civil society
members.
VI.
In order to effectively
address Public Grievances relating
to installation of towers and issues related to telecom infrastructure, State
Governmentsmay setup:
·
State Level Telecom
Committee (STC) consisting of officers from TERM Cells, State Administration,
representative(s) of concerned Telecom Service Provider(s)and eminent public
persons etc.
·
District Level
Telecom Committee (DTC) consisting of officers from District Administration,
representative(s) of concerned Telecom Service Provider(s) and eminent public
persons etc.
C.
Action by DoT/ TERM Cells
I.
Public awareness programme (Through DoT web portal / Govt. Publication).
II. a)For
all the existing as well as new BTSs / Towers, Telecom Service Providers are
required to submit self-certificates periodically in the format as prescribed
by TEC, DoT, in order to ensure that normally all general public areas around
the site are within the safe EMR exposure limits. Any violation noticed
attracts heavy penalties on Telecom Service Provider(s) and may also lead to
shut down of BTS in case the violation persists.
b) The TERM Cells have been given clear instructions
with regard to the technical audit of BTS, including for radiation from towers
within safe limits.These include roof top/ ground based/ pole mounted/ wall
mounted towers. They will also verify antenna orientation, safe distance from
the tower (exclusion zone) etc. Installation and augmentation of BTS and
antenna is a continuous process.DoT is organizing frequent workshopsfor these
officers to ensure observance of the latest guidelines issued by DoT on the
subject of EMF radiation and public safety.Additional
Guidelines for TERM Cells(available on DoT website)
******
No comments:
Post a Comment