Telecom operators fined ₹10.8 cr for excess tower radiation

Telecom operators have been fined ₹ 10.80 crore by the government for for exceeding the prescribed limit for radiation from mobile towers, the Parliament was informed.

The-team-will-take-stock-of-the-situation-in-view-of-the-persistent-targeting-of-the-mobile-telephone-infrastructure-by-militants-Reuters

Telecom operators have been fined ₹ 10.80 crore by the government for for exceeding the prescribed limit for radiation from mobile towers, the Parliament was informed.

The government has imposed the penalty for exceeding prescribed electronic frequency (EMF) limits, telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha.

According to the statement issued on Friday, the maximum penalty of ₹2.15 crore was imposed on Bharti Airtel followed by ₹1.80 crore on Vodafone, ₹1.65 crore on Reliance and ₹1.45 crore on Tata Teleservices.

A penalty of ₹95 lakh was imposed on Idea, ₹90 lakh on Aircel, ₹70 lakh on BSNL, ₹55 lakh on Loop, ₹15 lakh on MTNL, ₹5 lakh on Sistema Shyam Teleservices, ₹35 lakh on Uninor and ₹10 lakh on Videocon.

He said that during 2015-16 (upto May 31), 6 base tower stations (BTSs) were found exceeding the prescribed radiation limit on actual testing.

The number of towers exceeding the limit stood at 103 in 2012-13 and 77 in 2013-14, while none of the towers were found to exceed the limit in 2014-15.

'The penalty for violation of actual EMF radiation norms has increased from ₹5 lakh to ₹10 lakh per BTS per incidence. Instructions in this regard were issued on January 20, 2013,' Prasad said.

The total number of mobile BTSs setup at mobile towers in the country, as on May 31, 2015, stood at 9,08,353.

The government in 2012 had lowered the EMF exposure limit from base station or mobile tower emissions to one-tenth of then-existing levels.

In order to ensure compliance to the prescribed norms of EMF radiation from mobile towers, audit of self-certificates being submitted by telecom service providers and BTS sites is carried out by Telecom Enforcement Resource & Monitoring (TERM) field units of Department of Telecom.

In case, any BTS site is found to violate the prescribed EMF norms, actions are taken to put a penalty of ₹10 lakh per BTS per incidence including closing of BTS site, if the violation persists.

Additionally, the BTS sites against which there are public complaints are also tested by TERM cell.

(With agency inputs)