Lok Sabha Question No. 1015 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-03-02
Subject: Impact of Radiation on Health
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: HARISHCHANDRA DEORAM CHAVAN, P.P. CHAUDHARY

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1015 TO BE ANSWERED ON 2 nd  MARCH,  2016

## IMPACT OF RADIATION ON HEALTH

1015. SHRI HARISHCHANDRA CHAVAN: SHRI P.P. CHAUDHARY:

Will  the  Minister  of  COMMUNICATIONS  AND  INFORMATION  TECHNOLOGY be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has conducted any study to review the impact of mobile phones and towers radiation on health;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the Government had undertook any such study previously also and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether  despite  banning  installation  of  mobile  towers  at  the  residential  areas, schools, hospitals and playgrounds etc., the cases of violations are still happening; and
- (e) if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  the  action  taken  by  the  Government  against  the violators particularly in Maharashtra?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)

(a) & (b) Yes,  Madam.  The  Science  and  Engineering  Research  Board  (SERB) under Department of Science and Technology (Government of India) has constituted an Expert Committee/Task Force to evaluate Research & Development (R&D) proposals to study  the  possible  impact  of  Electromagnetic  Field  (EMF)  Radiation  exposure  from mobile  tower  and  handset  on  life  (humans,  living  organism,  flora  &  fauna  and environment) and related initiatives. The Committee has short listed research proposals for further consideration, which are being supported for funding jointly by Department of Science  and  Technology  and  Department  of  Telecommunications  (DoT).  Nineteen research proposals, including those from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, IIT Kharagpur, All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) New Delhi, AIIMS Rishikesh, Thiagarajar College of Engineering Madurai, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) Chandigarh, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences  (NIMHANS)  Bangalore,  Amity  University  Noida,  Swami  Vivekananda Yoga  Anusandhana  Samsthana  University  Bangalore,  Guru  Nanak  Dev  University Amritsar etc., have been initiated in 2015.

(c) An Inter-Ministerial  Committee  (IMC)  to  examine  the  effect  of  Electro  Magnetic Field  (EMF)  Radiation  from  base  stations  and  mobile  phones  was  constituted  on 24.08.2010. In its report, the committee has, inter-alia, referred to studies conducted by certain institutes in India. Further, the IMC in its report, after examining various national and international studies on the environmental and health related concerns due to EMF, has  indicated  that  most  of  the  laboratory  studies  were  unable  to  find  a  direct  link between exposure to radio frequency radiation and health; and the scientific studies as yet  have  not  been  able  to  confirm  a  cause  and  effect  relationship  between  radio frequency radiation and health.

Also, a committee comprising of members from Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) Kharagpur, Kanpur, Delhi, Roorkee, Bombay and from other scientific institutions of  the  country  including  Indian  Council  of  Medical  Research  (ICMR)  and  All  India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) Delhi was setup at the behest of Hon'ble High Court Allahabad, Lucknow bench. This Committee has observed that World Health Organization  (WHO)  has  referred  to  approximately  25,000  studies,  conducted  around the world over past 30 years, and based on an in-depth review of scientific literature, has  concluded:  'current  evidence  does  not  confirm  the  existence  of  any  health consequences from exposure to low level electromagnetic fields'. Since the effects on human beings are to be studied over a long period of time, further studies are going on around the world.

(d) & (e) The main conclusion from the WHO reviews is that EMF exposures 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)  are  already  10  times  more  stringent  than  the  safe  limits prescribed by ICNIRP and recommended by WHO. Making the norms ten times stricter than  what  has  been prescribed  by  ICNIRP and  recommended by WHO, obviates the need  for  having  separate  norms  for  special  localities  like  schools,  hospitals  and residential areas. Further, Government of India has taken adequate steps to ensure that Telecommunications Service Providers strictly adhere to these prescribed norms.

Accordingly,  the  advisory  guidelines  issued  by  DoT  to  state  governments  on 01.08.2013  for  issue  of  clearance  for  installation  of  mobile  towers  do  not  place  any restriction on installation of mobile towers in public buildings/places such as residential areas,  schools,  hospitals,  playground  etc.  As  such  the  violation  of  the  banning installation of towers at residential areas, schools, hospitals, & playgrounds etc., does not arise. Further, several High Courts viz Hon'ble High Courts of Punjab & Haryana, Madras,  Kerala,  Gujarat,  Delhi,  Himachal  Pradesh  and  Allahabad  in  the  court  cases related to issue of effects of the radiation from cell phone towers have given judgements whereby they have dismissed petitions, where the mobile tower installations at various locations were challenged on grounds of health effects of EMF radiations.

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