Lok Sabha Question No. 4057 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-07-17
Subject: Guidelines for Installation of Mobile Towers
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Pratima Bhoumik, Sudhakar Tukaram Shrangre, P.P. Chaudhary, Devji Mansingram Patel

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4057 TO BE ANSWERED ON 17 TH   JULY, 2019

## GUIDELINES FOR INSTALLATION OF MOBILE TOWERS

## 4057.   MS. PRATIMA BHOUMIK:

SHRI SUDHAKAR TUKARAM SHRANGARE:

SHRI P.P. CHAUDHARY:

SHRI DEVJI M. PATEL:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

(a) whether  the  Government  is  planning  to  frame  any  new  guideline  to  prevent  unbridled installation of mobile phone towers to protect common people from EMF radiations therefrom and if so, the details thereof;

- (b) the steps taken by the Government to limit tower density across the country keeping in mind the hazardous health effects of EMF radiation; and
- (c) the  present  mobile  tower  density  and  average  EMF  radiation  in  the  country,  State/Union Territory-wise?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS, LAW & JUSTICE AND ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)

(a) & (b) No, Sir. Ministry of Communications is not planning to frame any new guideline to prevent installation of mobile towers.

With  regard  to  impact  of  Electromagnetic  Field  (EMF)  emissions  from  mobile  towers  on health, it is intimated that World Health Organization (WHO) has referred to approximately 25,000 articles published around the world over past 30 years, and based on an in-depth review of scientific literature,  has  stated,  ' Despite  the  feeling  of  some  people  that  more  research  needs  to  be  done, scientific  knowledge  in  this  area  is  now  more  extensive  than  for  most  chemicals. '  WHO  has concluded  -  ' current  evidence  does  not  confirm  the  existence  of  any  health  consequences  from exposure to low level electromagnetic fields '.

To safeguard common  people, Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has been monitoring global developments and has already taken necessary steps and adopted stricter norms for safety from EMF emission from mobile towers. The main conclusion from the WHO review is that EMF  exposure  below  the  limits  recommended  in  the  International  Commission  on  Non  Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) international guidelines do not appear to have any  known consequence on health. In India norms for exposure limit for the Radio Frequency Field (Base Station Emissions) has been fixed 10 times more stringent than the safe limits prescribed by  ICNIRP and recommended by WHO.

Government of India has also put in place a well-structured process and adequate mechanism to ensure that Telec-ommunications Service Providers strictly adhere to these prescribed norms.

(c) Licensed  Service  Area  (LSA)  wise  details  of  number  of  mobile  towers  is  provided  at Annexure-I.The  present  EMF  emission  norms  as  laid  down  for  Base  Transceiver  Stations  (BTSs) installed at various mobile towers in India are as follows:

| Frequency Range     | E-Field Strength (Volt/Meter)   | H-Field Strength (Amp/Meter)   | Power Density (Watt/Sq.Meter)   |
|---------------------|---------------------------------|--------------------------------|---------------------------------|
| 400 MHz to 2000 MHz | 0.434 f ½                       | 0.0011 f ½                     | f / 2000                        |
| 2 GHz to 300 GHz    | 19.29                           | 0.05                           | 1                               |

(f is frequency in MHz)

As has been mentioned above, Government of India has put in place a well-structured process & adequate mechanism to ensure that Telecommunications Service Providers strictly adhere to these prescribed  norms.  During  last  three  years  and  including  current  year,  upto  30-04-2019,  only  155 BTSs, out of total more than 21 lakh BTSs, have been observed emitting beyond the prescribed limit. Therefore, the average emitted power density of EMF from mobile tower is well within the norms prescribed by DoT.

Annexure referred to in reply of part (c) of  Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No.  4057 to  be answered on 17 th  July, 2019 raised by Hon'ble Members of Parliament Ms. Pratima Bhoumik, Shri Sudhakar Tukaram Shrangare, Shri P.P. Chaudhary, Shri Devji M. Patel , regardingGuidelines for installation of mobile towers

## LICENSED SERVICE AREA WISE (LSA-WISE) DETAILS OF NUMBER OF MOBILE TOWERS AS ON 30-06-2019:

| SN   | LSA              |   NUMBER OF MOBILE TOWERS |
|------|------------------|---------------------------|
| 1    | Andhra Pradesh   |                     43442 |
| 2    | Assam            |                     12762 |
| 3    | Bihar            |                     39710 |
| 4    | Delhi            |                     26605 |
| 5    | Gujarat          |                     33400 |
| 6    | Himachal Pradesh |                      6798 |
| 7    | Haryana          |                     12802 |
| 8    | Jammu &Kashmir   |                      9533 |
| 9    | Karnataka        |                     36137 |
| 10   | Kolkata          |                     13048 |
| 11   | Kerala           |                     17434 |
| 12   | Mumbai           |                     16539 |
| 13   | Maharashtra      |                     42692 |
| 14   | Madhya Pradesh   |                     41438 |
| 15   | North East       |                      8188 |
| 16   | Odisha           |                     17918 |
| 17   | Punjab           |                     20189 |
| 18   | Rajasthan        |                     30280 |
| 19   | Tamilnadu        |                     43187 |
| 20   | UP(East)         |                     33872 |
| 21   | UP(West)         |                     29120 |
| 22   | West Bengal      |                     22449 |
|      | Grand Total      |                    557543 |

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