Mohan Lal & Ors vs Stat E & Ors on 21 September, 2016

[Cites 6, Cited by 1]

Rajasthan High Court - Jodhpur

Mohan Lal & Ors vs Stat E & Ors on 21 September, 2016

This batch of writ petitions has been filed by the petitioners being aggrieved with the erection of Cellphone Towers (Ground Based Mast, Roof Top Antenna Towers and Wi-Fi Antenna) by the private telecommunication companies in the various localities of the State of Rajasthan.

The principle argument of the learned counsels for the petitioners in these writ petitions is to the effect that the Cellphone Towers are being erected in densely populated areas nearby the schools, temples and public utility places and serious health risk likely to occur due to radiation from the said Cellphone Towers. The petitioners have claimed that the Cellphone Tower is not safe for health as it releases radiation, which affects human life. The petitioners therefore, prayed that local bodies such 18 as Municipal Corporations, Municipal Councils and Gram Panchayats be directed not to issue No Objection Certificates to the telecommunication companies for erecting Cellphone Towers in the densely populated areas or nearby the schools or public utility places. The petitioners have also prayed for cancellation of the No Objection Certificates issued by the local bodies for erection of the Cellphone Towers.

The other contention of the petitioners is this that the local bodies have issued No Objection Certificates to the private telecommunication companies for erecting Cellphone Towers in violation of the order dated 31.08.2012 passed by the Urban Development Housing & LSG Department, Government of Rajasthan, whereby the private telecommunication companies are allowed to erect Cellphone Towers on certain terms and conditions. It is contended that the terms and conditions have not been followed by the local bodies as well as the private telecommunication companies before erecting the Cellphone Towers. It is also contended that State Authorities as well as the local bodies are 19 not complying with the directions given by the Division Bench of this Court in Justice I.S.Israni (Retd.) & 3 Anr. vs. Union of India & Ors., reported in 2013(2) WLC (Raj.) 602.

The respondents local bodies as well as the private telecommunication companies have refuted the claim of the petitioners that the Cellphone Towers cause risk to the public health. It is contended that there is no scientific data available till date, which concludes that emissions from the Cellphone Towers cause any risk to the health of the public at large. In support of the above contention, the respondents have placed reliance on various decisions of different High Courts and contended that there is unanimous opinion amongst various High Courts that Cellphone Towers cause no risk to the public health. The respondents have also denied the claim of the petitioners that before granting NOCs for erection of Cellphone Towers or before erecting the Cellphone Towers, the terms and conditions incorporated in the Government order dated 31.08.2012 have not been followed and the directions issued by this Court in the case of Justice 20 I.S.Israni (Retd.) (supra) have not been complied with.

Now the core question before this Court is that whether the emissions from the Cell Phone Towers cause adverse impact on public health or not.

At this stage, it would be useful to refer recent pronouncements of various High Courts on the similar issue.

The High Court of Gujarat in MuktiPark Co-operative Soceity - Part - IV vs. Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation & Ors.

(Special Civil Application No.5548 of 2014 with Civil Application No.5597 of 2014 in Civil Application No.5159 of 2014 in Special Civil Application No.5548 of 2014) decided on 05.09.2014 has held as under:

"9. The petition is substantially based on a strong fear that the radio frequency waves emitted from the BTS in question is likely to cause health hazards to the residents of the flats and further that the respondent No.2 has erected the BTS in violation of the guidelines issued by the DoT. It is also the case of the petitioners that the BTS has been erected without any permission or sanction of the residents of the residential premises in question. The petitioners, in support of their case that the BTS would be harmful to the residents of the flats, have relied upon the information downloaded from the Wikipedia (Annexure "C" to the petition), the inter ministerial report issued by the 21 Ministry of Telecommunication and Information Technology (DoT) (Annexure "D" to the petition), and the report of the Expert Group to study the possible impacts of communication towers on Wildlife including birds and bees, issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forest (Annexure "E" to the petition). The petitioners have also relied upon the advisory guidelines issued by the State Government regarding the issue of clearance for installation of the mobile towers, effective from 1st August, 2013, along with the additional guidelines to TERM Cells for auditing the BTS for EMF radiation effective from 1st August, 2013, issued by the DoT.

10. From the materials on record, it appears that the respondent No.2 has been granted Pan India licence across 22 circles for offering the 4G wireless services. In the State of Gujarat, apart from the respondent No.2, three other operators have been granted licence for offering the 4G services. The entities who have been granted the 4G licences, which includes the respondent No.2, have been granted spectrum in the 2300 MHz band. It also appears from the information available on the website of the Global Mobile Suppliers' Association, that the 4G technology has been commercially launched by 25 operators in 20 countries across the world, where also the spectrum is granted in or around the 2300 MHz band. The details are as under:-

     Sr.No   Country         Operator               TDD
                                                    Frequency
1            Australia    NBN Co                  2.3 GHz
2            Australia    Optus                   2.3 GHz
3            Bahrain      Menatelcom              3.5 GHz
4            Brazil       On Telecommunications   2.6 GHz
5            Brazil       Sky Brazil Services     2.5 GHz
6            Canada       Sasktel                 2.5 GHz
7            Hong Kong    China Mobile Hong Kong 2.3 GHz
8            India        Bharti Airtel           2.3 GHz
9            Indonesia    PT Internet             2.3 GHz
10           Japan        Softbank XGP/LTE TDD    2.6 GHz
                                      22


     Sr.No   Country          Operator               TDD
                                                     Frequency
11           Nigeria        Spectranet            2.3 GHz
12           Oman           Omantel               2.3 GHz
13           Poland         Aem2                  2.6 GHz
14           Russia         Megafon/Moscow        2.6 GHz
15           Russia         MTS/Moscow            2.6 GHz
16           Russia         Vanakh Telecom        2.3 GHz
17           Saudia Arabia Mobily                 2.5 GHz
18           Saudia Arabia STC                    2.3 GHz
19           South Africa   Telkom Mobile         2.3 GHz
20           Spain          COTA Murca 4G         2.6 GHz
21           Sri Lanka      Dialog Axiata         2.3 GHz
22           Sweden         3 Sweden              2.6 GHz
23           Uganda         MTN                   2.6 GHz
24           UK             UK Broadband          3.5 GHz
25           USA            Sprint                2.6 GHz

11. It also appears from the materials on record that for ensuring uniform, faster and smoother processing of the applications, for clearance of sites for the purpose of setting up the BTS by entities who have been granted the 4G licence across the cities and towns in Gujarat, the Government of Gujarat has issued a G.R dated 3rd October, 2012, inter-alia giving suitable directions to all the Municipal Corporations/Municipalities/ Urban local authorities in the State of Gujarat and also prescribing the amount to be charged.

12. Pursuant to the aforesaid Resolution issued by the State Government, the respondent No.1 has granted permission in favour of the respondent No.2 dated 15th November, 2013 to set up mobile poles at the specific locations in the city of Ahmedabad. Thus, we do not find any merit in the contention canvassed on behalf of the petitioners that the respondent No.2 has erected the poles without obtaining any requisite permission from the authorities concerned. This fact has been made abundantly clear in the affidavit-in-reply filed on behalf of the respondent No.1, State of Gujarat.

13. It also appears that the BTS with which we are concerned, is 30 meters in 23 height, whereas the height of the flat (Malhar) is about 16 meters. Further, the BTS has been erected outside the compound of Malhar flats.

14. In April, 1998, the International Commission on Nonionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), after conducting the necessary studies, has prescribed the safe levels of EMF radiation from the base stations. This is evident from the ICNIRP guidelines produced on record by the respondent No.2 with it's affidavit-in- reply. The Table 5 thereof prescribes the basic restrictions for power density for frequencies between 10 and 300 GHz and the same are 50 W/m2 for occupational exposure and 10 W/m2 for the general public. The Table 7 thereof contains the reference levels for general public exposure to time varying electric and magnetic fields (unperturbed rms values). As per this table, if the frequency range is

2 to 300 GHz, the equivalent place wave power density should be 10 W/m2.

15. In May 2006, the World Health Organisation issued a Fact Sheet, inter alia, making the following observations:-

"...recent surveys have shown that RF exposures from base stations range from 0.002% to 2% of the levels of international exposure guidelines, depending on a variety of factors such as proximity to the antennae and the surrounding environment. This is lower or comparable to RF exposures from radio or television broadcast transmitters."

"A common concern about base stations and local wireless network antennae rates to the possible long term health effects that whole- body exposure to RF signals may have. To date, the only health effect from RF fields identified in scientific reviews has been related to an increase in body temperature (> 1°C) from exposure at very high field intensity fund only in certain industrial facilities, such as RF heaters. The levels of RF exposure from base stations and wireless networks are so low that the temperature increase are insignificant and do not affect human health."

"The strength of RF fields is greatest at its source and diminishes quickly with distance. Access near base station antennae is restricted where RF signals may exceed international exposure limits. Recent surveys have indicated 24 that RF exposures from base stations and wireless technologies in publicly accessible areas (including schools and hospitals) are normally thousands of times below international standards."

"Over the past 15 years studies examining a potential relationship between RF transmitters and cancer have been published, these studies have not provided evidence that RF exposure from the transmitters increases the risk of cancer"

"From all the evidence accumulated so far, no adverse short or long term health effects have been shown to occur from the RF signals produced by base stations"

"International exposure guidelines have been developed to provide protection against established effects from RF fields by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP, 1998) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE, 2005). National authorities should adopt international standards to protect their citizens against adverse levels of RF fields. They should restrict access to areas where exposure limits may be exceeded."

Considering the very low exposure levels and research results collected to date, there is no convincing scientific evidence that the weak RF signals from base stations and wireless networks cause adverse health effects."

16. In the year 2008, the Government of India adopted the restrictions and limits recommended by the aforementioned ICNIRP guidelines. The letter dated 4th November, 2008, issued by the DoT modifying the terms of the Licence Agreement in that regard has been produced by the Union of India, along with its reply (Annexure R-3). By letter dated 8.4.2010, the DoT directed all the CMS/UAS Licensees to comply with the prescribed reference limits/levels and to issue self certification in that regard in respect of their BTS. It was also directed that the TERM Cells would test upto 10% of new BTS sites randomly at its discretion. Additionally, the BTS sites against which if any public complaints are lodged, then the same would also be tested by the TERM Cell and further if the site fails to meet with the EMR criterion, a penalty of Rs. 5 lac would be levied per 25 BTS per service provider. Moreover, if the servicer provider fails to meet with the criterion within one month of the report of the TERM Cell, the site would be shut down.

17. Considering the public concerns over the issue, an Inter-Ministerial Committee was constituted in August 2010 to examine the effect of the EMF radiation from the BTS and mobile phones, which, after examining the matter, submitted its Report, inter alia, recommending that the RF exposure limits in India may be lowered to 1/10th of the existing level.

18. In a group of writ petitions filed in the Rajasthan High Court, inter alia, seeking directions to the various authorities to formulate a regulatory body in relation to emission of radio frequency and electromagnetic radiations from the mobile towers, seeking directions not to construct the mobile towers at certain places and seeking directions to quash the bye-laws made by the State Government of Rajasthan and the municipalities prohibiting erection of the mobile towers at certain places, the Rajasthan High Court delivered a judgment dated 27.11.2012 upholding the bye-laws/policy decision of the State Government of Rajasthan and, inter alia, directing that (i) the mobile towers from hospitals and colleges be removed within 2 months, (ii) that the time prescribed by the State Government for removal of the mobile towers from within vicinity of 500 mt from jail premises be implemented, (iii) that removal of the mobile towers near the ancient monuments be considered by the State Government and the local authorities, (iv) that the mobile towers on playgrounds may also be looked into, guideline of the DoT in regard to the mobile handsets and the mobile towers be strictly enforced, (v) that the public be educated and made aware of the different mobile handsets and ill-effects thereof, and of the towers, and precautions necessary as per the DoT guidelines, (vi) that the State Governments and the local authorities should take decision on case- wise basis with regard to the installation of towers in densely populated areas in accordance with law and removal of 26 dangerous towers which were not established as per the norms and were erected without permission, (vii) that the Government should consider whether it would be appropriate to change the constitution of the TERM Cells which are the regulatory bodies framed by it, the directions of the DoT and the Inter- Ministerial Report with respect to constant monitoring be implemented and that while granting such permission for the installation of towers, concerned bodies should consider the number of the mobile towers in the area, the effect on the health of the people and various other safeguards.

19. Based on such recommendations of the Inter-Ministerial Committee, the Government of India has now adopted stricter norms for emission from the base stations, being 1/10th of the limits prescribed by ICNIRP. Accordingly, the licence conditions of all the telecom service providers in India were again amended to this effect. The letter dated 26.6.2013 issued by the DoT refers to the amendment made to the Licence Agreements in this regard.

20. The DoT has thereafter issued guidelines effective from 1.8.2013, which, inter alia, reflect the adoption of 1/10th of the limits prescribed by ICNIRP. The comparative table given in the reply of the respondent no. 2 and also reproduced hereinbelow gives the norms prevalent in India as against those prescribed by the ICNIRP:

Frequency Power Density Limit Power Density Limit prescribed by ICNIRP prescribed by DoT (in Mega Hertz or (in Watt/meter2 or Mhz) (in Watt/meter2 or W/m2) W/m2) 900 4.5 0.45 1800 9 0.9 2100 and above 10.5 1

21. With a view to strengthen the monitoring and compliance of safety aspects/provisions in regard to radio frequency emissions from the mobile towers, the DoT has also issued Additional Guidelines with effect from 1.8.2013, 27 wherein the DoT has prescribed the following safe distances:

No. of antenna(e) Building/Structure safe distance from the antenna pointed in the same (e) at the same height (in meters) direction 1 20 2 35 4 45 6 55

22. In the said additional guidelines, it is specified that the antennae at the same height only are to be counted, as the beam width of the mobile antennae, in the vertical direction, is very narrow. It is also stated that the distance figures in the above table are based on empirical estimation considering that all the antennae are emitting at their maximum RF power of 20 Watts and in the same direction with the same height (a worst case scenario). In practise, the value of safe distance of buildings will depend upon the actual deployment scenarios and mostly, may be far less than depicted above.

23. Thereafter, several faculty members at the IITs and IISc in the area of communications, being concerned about the reports of adverse impact of radio frequency radiation from cellular towers on human health, examined the issue and prepared a Statement on the issue in September 2013 wherein they noted that the DoT had implemented the reduction of emission levels from the mobile towers in the country to 1/10th of the ICNIRP standards and that India thus became one of the 10% countries having the most stringent norms of the EM exposure. They concluded that the recommendations of the DoT were sensible and based on international best practises at this point of time and that they should be strictly implemented. They further recommended creation of a public database where all study reports on the health implication of the EM radiation should be placed and conduction of multiple scientific studies on the subject of health implications of the EM radiation, etc. 28

24. In its latest advisory on health risk associated with mobile phones and BTS, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said:

" Studies to date provide no indication that environmental exposure to RF (radio-frequency) fields, such as from base stations increases the risk of cancer or any other disease.......".

25. In a writ petition filed in the Allahabad High Court, a direction was given to the Government of India to constitute a committee of experts to submit a report so that the Government may take necessary precautions while granting permission for establishment of the mobile towers. Such Committee was formed vide letter dated 20.8.2013, and thereafter, it has submitted its report on 17.1.2014 stating that the DoT has already prescribed stricter precautionary limits for the EMF radiation from the mobile towers and the mobile handsets. After considering the report of the Committee, the DoT has issued an Office Memorandum on 27.2.2014 stating that the presently prescribed limits for the EMF radiation from the base stations in India are one tenth of the internationally prescribed limits and that the same were adequate and need no further change at that stage. It is also decided that in order to make a deterrent effect, the penalty for violation of the prescribed stricter norms from the BTS towers by telecom service providers be increased from Rs. 5 lac to Rs. 10 lac per BTS per incidence per operator with effect from 20.11.2013. The TERM Cells are directed to carry out extensive audit of comprehensive self certificates and site for compliance of EMF radiation safe limits.

26. Recently, the Science and Engineering Research Board, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India has constituted a Committee of experts, inter alia, to initiate country wide special scientific studies in the area of engineering and life form risk assessment and to define efficiency and emission norms for communication, etc. The said Committee has received about 150 proposals which would be considered and evaluated.

27. What has really left us baffled is the fact that the radio frequency waves used for mobile phones are not covered under the definition of "radiation" as given in the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 and the non- ionizing radiations do not have the capability to ionize the matter with which they interact. The Radiation Protection Division (NRPB) of the U.K. Health Protection Agency in the year 2000 has reported that the balance of evidence indicates that there is no general risk to the health of the people living near the base stations on the basis that the exposures are expected to be small fractions of guidelines. The scientific data would indicate that the use of the mobile phone, AM Radio, FM Radio etc. is more harmful to the human beings compared to the power emission from the Base Transceiver Stations and that of the Mobile Towers.

28. A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court in the case of Reliance Infocom Ltd. Vs. Chemanchery Grama Panchayat and ors., reported in AIR 2007 Kerala 33 has observed that the surveys conducted in proximity to the base stations indicated that the public was exposed to extremely low intensity RF fields in the environment and all the evidences indicated that they were unlikely to pose the risk to health.

29. We may quote some of the observations of the Division Bench of the Kerala High Court, as contained in paragraph 5 of the judgment, which has been relied upon by the respondent No.2.

5. We have already found that RF exposures from Mobile Base Stations are much less than from radio, FM radio and television transmissions and that the consensus of scientific community is that the radiation from Mobile Phone Base Stations is far too low to produce health hazards if people are kept away from direct access to the antenna and the overall evidence indicates that they are unlikely to pose a risk to health. The strength of radio frequency fields in front of the antennae varies with the distance. Persons standing directly in front of the antennae in these high density zones will get higher exposures. We have also found that the height of Mobile Base Station antennae is normally 36 metres and the effect of radio 30 waves depends on the distance from the base stations since the antennae are directed horizontally with a 5 degree downwards tilt. Human studies pertaining to base stations conducted by Santini R et al (2002), Bortkiewicz et al (2004) and Hutter and kundi et at (2006) do not report any quantitative parameters related to health hazards. Therefore it can safely be concluded that the permission granted for installation of Mobile Base Station by the Panchayat would not cause as such any health hazards nor will it affect the fundamental rights guaranteed to citizens under Article 21 of the Constitution. Right to life enshrined under Article 21 includes all those aspects of life which make life meaningful, complex and worth living. Development of technology has its own ill- effects on human beings, but, at times people will have to put up with that at the cost of their advantages. Petitioner and others for installing towers will have necessarily to comply with the statutory provisions contained in Chapter XIX of the Kerala Municipal Building Rules, 1999 which permits construction of telecommunication towers over buildings. Petitioner has submitted that it has already satisfied all those conditions and in such circumstance Panchayat has granted the licence.

30. We are in respectful agreement with the aforenoted observations made by the Division Bench of the Kerala High Court, and propose to follow the same.

31. Before parting with this matter, we deem it necessary to mention that the concerned authorities should, by way of communication through T.V., Radio etc. bring it to the notice of the people at large that there is no reason for them to fear the erection of the Base Transceiver Station, known as the Wi-Fi Mobile Tower. The reason why we are saying so is that the impression in the mind of a common man is that the Wi-Fi Mobile Towers erected all over the State has the potential to cause health hazard due to the emission of radio active waves from the said tower.

32. In view of the aforesaid discussion, we have reached to the conclusion that the petitioners are not entitled to any of the reliefs as prayed for in the petition. The petition, being devoid of any merit, is 31 accordingly ordered to be rejected. No costs.

33. In view of the order passed in the main petition, the connected Civil Applications have become infructuous and are accordingly, disposed of."

The High Court of Himachal Pradesh in Vijay Verma vs. State of H.P. & Ors. and 4 others (CWP No.8283 of 2012) decided on 30.11.2015 has held as under:

"13. Having noticed the judicial precedents on the subject, we would now advert to the recent studies carried out in the field of radio electromagnetic fields (EMF). The Department of Telecommunication (Ministry of Communication and Information Technology) has published on its website very instructive information regarding the health effect due to EMF and the relevant observations read as under:

"A. Introduction

1. Telecommunications have been recognized the world-over as an important tool for socio- economic development of a nation. It has become core infrastructure required for rapid growth and modernisation of various sectors of the economy. There has been a phenomenal growth of the telecom sector in terms of subscribers and revenues over the past one and a half decades in India. Today, India is amongst top three of largest and one of the fastest growing telecom markets in the world. The Indian telecom industry has grown from a tele-density of 3.58% in March 2001 to 78.13% in February, 2015. This great leap in both the number of subscribers and revenues from telecom services has contributed significantly to the growth in GDP and employment.

2. The next information revolution will be brought through the use of mobile broadband/ internet. However the penetration of mobile internet is very low in country in comparison to other nations. Large investments and efforts from industry as well as Government are required to expand the mobile telephony related infrastructure, which include tower, 32 with a view to expand the mobile telephony based services and take these to rural and remote areas. This needs to be done, so that the dream of broadband for all can be realised and benefit of this technology can be reaped by all sections of society. According to various reports increase in 10% penetration of mobile broadband leads to more than 1% increase in GDP of country.

3. Telecom towers are critical installations on which the backbone of mobile communication rests. These are essential for realizing the vision of inclusive growth. The success of initiatives like Digital India, Smart Cities and right to Broadband, which the Government intends to implement in mission mode, depends on this critical and essential infrastructure. Mobile communications play important role in social and economic growth and disaster management for which mobile towers are a pre-requisite. A robust and scalable mobile infrastructure including towers is must for universal access to communication, effective delivery of services to citizens and financial inclusion. Realizing the significance of mobile towers, Government of India has included it in the harmonized list of infrastructure vide its Gazette notification dated 27-03-2012. Simplifying the sectoral policy for Right of way, for laying cable network and installation of towers, has also been incorporated as one of the strategies for achieving the broad objectives of the National Telecom Policy, 2012.

B. Health effect due to Electro Magnetic Frequency (EMF) Radiations - International Research

4. There is a public concern over possible health effects from Electromagnetic Field Radiation (EMR) exposure from diverse EMR sources especially Mobile BTS antennae and mobile. In this regard, several studies have been conducted in different countries, under the aegis of World Health Organization (WHO). 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 concluded:

"current evidence does not confirm the existence of any health consequences from exposure to low level electromagnetic field".

Since the effects on human beings are to be studied over a long period of time, further studies are going on around the world.

5. With reference to Electromagnetic 33 Radiation emanating from cellular mobile towers, World Health Organization (WHO) in its Fact Sheet No. 304, May 2006 on Electromagnetic Fields and Public Health (Base Stations and Wireless Technologies) has concluded that "considering the very low exposure levels and research results collected to date, there is no convincing scientific evidence that the weak Radio Frequency (RF) Signals from base stations and wireless networks caused adverse health effects. From all evidence accumulated so far, no adverse short or long term health effects have been shown to occur from the RF Signals produced by based stations."

6. In September 2013, WHO in online question and answers, have mentioned that "Studies to date provide no indication that environmental exposure to RF fields, such as from base stations, increases the risk of cancer or any other disease."

7. In respect of EMF radiations from mobile handsets, WHO in Fact Sheet 193 published in June 2011 has concluded that "A large number of studies have been performed over the last two decades to assess whether mobile phones pose a potential health risk. To date, no adverse health effects have been established as being caused by mobile phone use".

C. International EMF Project

8. As part of its charter to protect public health and in response to public concern over health effects of EMF exposure, the World Health Organization (WHO) established the International EMF Project in 1996 to assess the scientific evidence of possible health effects of EMF in the frequency range from 0 to 300 GHz. The EMF Project encourages focused research to fill important gaps in knowledge and to facilitate the development of internationally acceptable standards limiting EMF exposure.

9. Since the commencement of the EMF Project, over 50 national authorities have been involved. Apart from the national authorities the project is overseen by 8 international organizations[1] and independent collaborating institutions[2] and together they review scientific information related to public and occupational health, and environmental management of the EMF issue. It is pertinent to note that many of these studies have been going on for years so as to understand the effect of EMF over the period 34 of time and these studies are not specific to developed countries alone. While summarizing the key points on health effect of EMF radiation, WHO website mentions the following:

".....WHO's International EMF Project was launched to provide scientifically sound and objective answers to public concerns about possible hazards of low level electromagnetic fields.

Despite extensive research, to date there is no evidence to conclude that exposure to low level electromagnetic fields is harmful to human health..."

D. EMF Radiations - Recommended International safety standards

10. WHO recommended that 'National authorities should adopt international standards to protect their citizens against adverse levels of RF fields. They should restrict access to areas where exposure limits may be exceeded. 'WHO has recommended adoption of international standards, namely International Commission for Non Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP)/ Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). The main conclusion from the WHO reviews is that EMF exposures below the limits recommended in the ICNIRP international guidelines do not appear to have any known consequence on health. The WHO says -

"All reviews conducted so far have indicated that exposures below the limits recommended in the International Commission for Non Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) 1998 EMF guidelines, covering the full frequency range from 0-300 GHz, do not produce any known adverse health effect. However, there are gaps in knowledge still needing to be filled before better health risk assessments can be made."

ICNIRP continually monitors the science to ensure its guidelines on safe exposure limits remain up to date.

E. Steps taken by Department of Telecommunications

11. Department of Telecommunication (DoT), since 2008, has been monitoring global developments and has already taken necessary steps and adopted stricter norms for safety from EMF radiation that are 35 emitted from mobile towers and mobile handsets. Government of India has been taking due precautions and necessary actions in respect of EMF radiation emitted from mobile towers and mobile handsets by issuing various guidelines and norms taking into account the international standards/norms prescribed by International Commission on Non Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) as recommended by World Health Organisation.

12. EMF safe exposure Limits from mobile towers adopted in India

- As mentioned above, Government of India adopted the ICNIRP guidelines in the year 2008 for basic restriction and limiting reference levels of Electromagnetic radiation from Mobile towers and inserted the additional clause in the Access Service Licenses vide its amendment letter dated 4/11/2008. Based on the recommendations by Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC), these norms for exposure limit for the Radio Frequency Field (Base Station Emissions) have been further made stringent and reduced to 1/10th of the existing limits prescribed by International Commission on Non Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). Directions in this regard have been issued to the Mobile Operators on 30.12.2011. These directions have been further revised on 10.01.2013 and 26.06.2013. As per latest directions of 26.06.2013 -

"Licensee shall conduct audit and provide self certificates after every two years as per procedure prescribed by Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC) /or any other agency authorized by Licensor from time to time for confirming to limits/levels for antennae (Base Station Emissions) for general public exposure as prescribed by Licensor from time to time."

The present limits/levels for antennae (Base Station) EMF emissions for general public exposure are detail below -

   Frequency     E-field Strength H-Field Strength Power Density
     Range         (Volt/Meter         (Amp/Meter       (Watt/Sq. Meter
                      (V/m))              (A/m))          (W/Sq.m))
400 Mhz to 2000 0.434f ½           0.0011f ½          F/2000
Mhz
2GHz to 300 Ghz 19.29              0.05               1

                                            (f is frequency in Mhz)
                   36

13. Keeping the precautionary EMF safe exposure limits for the Radio Frequency Field (Base Station Emissions) as 1/10th of the safe limits prescribed by ICNIRP for all areas in India, eliminates the need for fixing lower limits for specific areas like schools, hospitals, residential premises, children playgrounds; a segregation of which is impractical in densely populated localities.

F. Recent review of exposure limits by Committee constituted in compliance of direction by Hon'ble High Court Allahabad:

14. In a Writ Petition filed in Hon'ble High Court Allahabad, Lucknow bench, the Hon'ble Court vide its order dated 10.01.2012 constituted a committee including Members from Indian Institute 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 who submitted its Report on 17-01-2014. After due consideration of the human health concerns on account of EMF radiation being raised in public and the Report of the Committee, the Government has decided in February 2014 that the present prescribed precautionary EMF safe exposure limits are adequate and need no further change at this stage.

G. Ensuring compliance to various safe limits standards :

15. Safe limits for emission from Base Transmitting Stations (mobile towers) - As detailed above, the norms for exposure limit for the Radio Frequency Field (Base Station Emissions) in India have already been made stringent and reduced to 1/10th of the existing limits prescribed by ICNIRP. In order to ensure that all Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs) should be compliant to prescribed EMF reference limits/ levels, DoT has issued instructions directing all Cellular Mobile Telephone Service (CMTS)/ Unified Access Services (UAS) licensees that all BTSs should be compliant to prescribed EMF reference limits/ levels and all BTSs should be self certified as meeting the radiation norm. Self certification is submitted to respective Telecom Enforcement Resource & Monitoring (TERM) Cells of DoT. All new 37 BTS sites starts radiating commercially, only after self certificate has been submitted to relevant TERM Cells. In order to ensure compliance to the prescribed stricter precautionary norms of EMF radiation from mobile tower, the extensive audit of compliance of self-certificates being submitted by telecom service providers and Base Transceiver Station (BTS) sites is carried out by Telecom Enforcement Resource & Monitoring (TERM) field units of DoT. This is regularly done by TERM units for the purpose of limiting the EMF radiation exposure and keeping general public areas in the vicinity of towers safe. In case, any BTS site is found to violate the prescribed EMF norms, actions are taken to put a penalty of Rs. 10 lakh per BTS per incidence including closing of BTS site as per the prescribed procedure. Additionally, the BTS sites against which there are public complaints are also tested by TERM Cell. The testing is done as per procedures prescribed by Telecom Engineering Centre (TEC) from time to time. TEC has published the Test Procedure for measurement of EMF from BTSs vide document no.

TEC/TP/EMF/001/01 SEP 2009.

16. Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) safe exposure Limits from mobile handsets adopted in India - With respect to radiation from Mobile Handsets also, ICNIRP has prescribed values for Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) limit as 2 Watt/Kg averaged over 10 gm tissue. Based on the limits provided by ICNIRP, DOT, in the year 2008, notified for compliance of Mobile Handsets being manufactured in India as well as the handsets being imported to conform to SAR limit of 2 W/kg (averaged over a mass of 10 gm tissue) localised for head and trunk in the frequency range of 10 MHz to 10 GHz. Based on the recommendations by IMC, SAR level for Mobile Handset has been revised from 2 watt per Kg averaged over a mass of 10 gram human tissue to 1.6 Watt per Kg averaged over a mass of 1 gram human tissue. Directions in this regard including other recommendations related to Mobile Handset have been issued to Mobile Handset Manufacturers on 25.01.2012. These directions have now become effective since 01.09.2013. From 01.09.2013, the mobile handsets with revised SAR value of 1.6 Watt/Kg averaged over a mass of 1 gram human tissue are only permitted to be 38 manufactured or imported in India for domestic market.

17. SAR value testing Lab - A laboratory has been set-up in the Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC) for testing of SAR value of mobile handsets imported/manufactured in India.

H. Public Awareness DoT has issued an informative guide on 'Mobile Communications-Radio Waves and Safety'. The document covers a basic introduction to radio waves, various terminologies, Do's & Don'ts related to mobile phone usage, clarification of various myths regarding deployment, use of Radio waves / Safety Standards and frequently asked questions relating to Mobile phones & Human health. Advertisement for ensuring safety from radiations of Mobile Towers & handsets has been issued by DoT which has been published in National & Regional Newspapers.

I. EMF Web portal

18. Telecommunication Engineering Center (TEC), a wing of DoT, is carrying out a pilot project on EMF web portal for implementation of online database for EMR of BTS towers. The pilot trial of web portal is being conducted in three circles Mumbai, Haryana, Karnataka and the city of Hyderabad. Based on the results of the pilot trial, decision will be taken to scale up the implementation throughout the country. The portal is envisaged to provide a public interface for viewing the EMF compliance status of mobile towers, anywhere in India. The portal is meant to generate confidence among the public about effectiveness of the EMF compliance process in India.

J. Guidelines for Installation of Mobile Tower

19. Broad guidelines for issue of clearances for installation of Mobile Towers were forwarded to all the State Governments on 23.08.2012 The above guidelines have been further revised with effect from 01.08.2013 and are also available on DOT Website.

K. India Specific research in the field - Committee Constituted by Department of Science & Technology:

20. As far as India specific studies are 39 concerned, Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India, is working on this issue for conducting study on possible impact of EMF Radiation exposure from mobile tower and handset on life (humans, living organism, flora & fauna and environment) and related initiatives. Based on the recommendation of the Committee consisting of former Director General (ICMR), representative from IIT Chennai, Indian Institute of Toxicology Research, Lucknow, Department of Telecom, Ministry of Environment & Forest, ICMR and DST;

Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) has invited R&D proposals in June, 2013 on the possible impact of EMF radiation exposure from mobile towers and handsets on life (humans, living organism, flora & fauna and environment) and related initiatives from eligible Scientist/Organizations-public or private, individually or in collaboration. The SERB has constituted an Expert Committee/Task Force comprising of various experts from Medical & Engineering Institutes on 04 September 2013 to evaluate R&D proposals.

L. Conclusion:

21. EMF radiations from a mobile tower, which are below the safe limits prescribed by ICNIRP and recommended by WHO, have no convincing scientific evidence of causing adverse health effects. Department of Telecommunications have prescribed stricter precautionary norms for exposure limit for the Radio Frequency Field (Base Station Emissions) which is 1/10th of the existing limits prescribed by ICNIRP and recommended by WHO. Further, Government of India has taken adequate steps to ensure that Telecommunications Service Providers strictly adhere to these prescribed norms."

14. It would be evident from the aforesaid information that the High Court of Allahabad (Lucknow Bench) had vide order dated 10.1.2012 constituted a Committee including members from Indian Institute 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 Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi, who submitted their report on 17.1.2014. After due 40 consideration of the human health concerns on account of EMF radiation being raised in public and the report of the Committee, the Government of India in February 2014 has decided that the present prescribed precautionary EMF safe exposure limits are adequate and need no further change at this stage.

15. Estimated EMF radiation emitted by a mobile handset is thousand times higher than that of a base station and even then no adverse health effect has been established to have been caused by the EMF in the use of mobile phones in the studies conducted by the WHO and published in Fact sheet N°193 reviewed October, 2014, the relevant observations whereof read thus:-

"Key facts  . Mobile phone use is ubiquitous with an estimated 6.9 billion subscriptions globally.  . The electromagnetic fields produced by mobile phones are classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as possibly carcinogenic to humans.  . Studies are ongoing to more fully assess potential long-term effects of mobile phone use.  . WHO will conduct a formal risk assessment of all studied health outcomes from radiofrequency fields exposure by 2016.

Mobile or cellular phones are now an integral part of modern telecommunications. In many countries, over half the population use mobile phones and the market is growing rapidly. In 2014, there is an estimated 6.9 billion subscriptions globally. In some parts of the world, mobile phones are the most reliable or the only phones available. Given the large number of mobile phone users, it is important to investigate, understand and monitor any potential public health impact. Mobile phones communicate by transmitting radio waves through a network of fixed antennas called base stations.

Radiofrequency waves are electromagnetic fields, and unlike ionizing radiation such as X-rays or gamma rays, can neither break chemical bonds nor cause ionization in the human body.


    Exposure levels

    Mobile   phones     are     low-powered
    radiofrequency            transmitters,
                41

operating at frequencies between 450 and 2700 MHz with peak powers in the range of 0.1 to 2 watts. The handset only transmits power when it is turned on. The power (and hence the radiofrequency exposure to a user) falls off rapidly with increasing distance from the handset. A person using a mobile phone 30-40 cm away from their body - for example when text messaging, accessing the Internet, or using a "hands free"

device - will therefore have a much lower exposure to radiofrequency fields than someone holding the handset against their head.

In addition to using "hands-free"

devices, which keep mobile phones away from the head and body during phone calls, exposure is also reduced by limiting the number and length of calls. Using the phone in areas of good reception also decreases exposure as it allows the phone to transmit at reduced power. The use of commercial devices for reducing radiofrequency field exposure has not been shown to be effective.

Mobile phones are often prohibited in hospitals and on airplanes, as the radiofrequency signals may interfere with certain electro- medical devices and navigation systems.

Are there any health effects?

A large number of studies have been performed over the last two decades to assess whether mobile phones pose a potential health risk. To date, no adverse health effects have been established as being caused by mobile phone use.

Short-term effects Tissue heating is the principal mechanism of interaction between radiofrequency energy and the human body. At the frequencies used by mobile phones, most of the energy is absorbed by the skin and other superficial tissues, resulting in negligible temperature rise in the brain or any other organs of the body.

A     number     of     studies     have
investigated      the     effects     of
radiofrequency     fields     on   brain
electrical      activity,      cognitive

function, sleep, heart rate and blood pressure in volunteers. To date, research does not suggest any consistent evidence of adverse health effects from exposure to radiofrequency fields at levels below those that cause tissue heating. Further, research has not been able to provide support for a causal relationship between exposure to electromagnetic fields and self-

reported symptoms, or "electromagnetic hypersensitivity".

Long-term effects Epidemiological research examining potential long-term risks from radiofrequency exposure has mostly looked for an association between brain tumours and mobile phone use. However, because many cancers are not detectable until many years after the interactions that led to the tumour, and since mobile phones were not widely used until the early 1990s, epidemiological studies at present can only assess those cancers that become evident within shorter time periods. However, results of animal studies consistently show no increased cancer risk for long-term exposure to radiofrequency fields.

Several large multinational epidemiological studies have been completed or are ongoing, including case-control studies and prospective cohort studies examining a number of health endpoints in adults. The largest retrospective case-control study to date on adults, Interphone, coordinated by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), was designed to determine whether there are links between use of mobile phones and head and neck cancers in adults.

The international pooled analysis of data gathered from 13 participating countries found no increased risk of glioma or meningioma with mobile phone use of more than 10 years.

There are some indications of an increased risk of glioma for those who reported the highest 10% of cumulative hours of cell phone use, although there was no consistent trend of increasing risk with greater duration of use. The researchers concluded that biases and errors limit the strength of these conclusions and prevent a causal interpretation.

Based largely on these data, IARC has classified radiofrequency electromagnetic fields as possibly carcinogenic to humans (Group 2B), a category used when a causal association is considered credible, but when chance, bias or confounding cannot be ruled out with reasonable confidence.

While an increased risk of brain tumors is not established, the increasing use of mobile phones and the lack of data for mobile phone use over time periods longer than 15 years warrant further research of mobile phone use and brain cancer risk. In particular, with the recent popularity of mobile phone use among younger people, and therefore a 43 potentially longer lifetime of exposure, WHO has promoted further research on this group. Several studies investigating potential health effects in children and adolescents are underway.

Exposure limit guidelines Radiofrequency exposure limits for mobile phone users are given in terms of Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) - the rate of radiofrequency energy absorption per unit mass of the body. Currently, two international bodies 1, 2 have developed exposure guidelines for workers and for the general public, except patients undergoing medical diagnosis or treatment. These guidelines are based on a detailed assessment of the available scientific evidence.


      WHO'S response

      In    response     to     public    and
      governmental         concern,       WHO
      established      the      International

Electromagnetic Fields (EMF) Project in 1996 to assess the scientific evidence of possible adverse health effects from electromagnetic fields. WHO will conduct a formal risk assessment of all studied health outcomes from radiofrequency fields exposure by 2016. In addition, and as noted above, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a WHO specialized agency, has reviewed the carcinogenic potential of radiofrequency fields, as from mobile phones in May 2011.

WHO also identifies and promotes research priorities for radiofrequency fields and health to fill gaps in knowledge through its research agendas.

WHO develops public information materials and promotes dialogue among scientists, governments, industry and the public to raise the level of understanding about potential adverse health risks of mobile phones."

16. The Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) in its 9th plenary meeting on 27th January, 2015 to update its opinion of 19th January, 2009 'Health effects of exposure to EMF' and 6th July, 2009 'Research needs and methodology to address the remaining knowledge gaps on 44 the potential health effects of EMF' in the light of newly available information since then, and to give special consideration to areas where important knowledge gaps were identified in the previous opinion, summarized its opinion as follows:-

"Exposure Human exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) comes from many different sources and occurs in various situations in everyday life. Man-made static fields are mainly found in occupational settings, such as close to MRI scanners, although DC high-voltage overhead transmission lines are being constructed, which are expected to expose larger parts of the population to static electric and magnetic fields.

EMF in the extremely low frequency (ELF) range are ubiquitous. The main sources of these fields pertaining to the general public are inhouse installations, household appliances and power lines. In recent years, attention has also been directed towards people living next to electric power transformers installed inside residential buildings. It appears that long-term exposure to ELF magnetic field of these people can extent to several tenths of μT.

Today, for power regulation most modern electrical equipment uses electronics instead of transformers. Examples include the switched power supplies to laptops, drilling tools, chargers of mobile phones and similar devices. As a consequence, the frequency content of the daily magnetic field exposure has changed mainly by adding odd harmonics. In particular, the third harmonic (150 Hz) has become another dominating frequency in our environment.

In the household, more appliances have appeared in the intermediate frequencies (IF) range. An important source of exposure in this frequency range is induction hobs, which have become popular in recent years. These can expose their users (both members of the general public and professionals) to IF magnetic fields higher than the reference levels of exposure guidelines.

In the radio frequency (RF range), by far the most applications which emit EMF are in the frequency range 45 above 100 kHz up to some GHz.

Multiple    sources     exist    that
contribute    to   an    individual's

exposure. However, transmitters in close vicinity to or on the body have become the main sources of exposure for the general population and professionals. Distance to the source is the main determinant of exposure, together with emitted power and duty factor.

In particular for brain tissues, the mobile phone used at the ear remains the main source of exposure.

However, since the first generation of mobile telephony, the technology aimed at reducing the emitted power of mobile handsets. Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT) phones are an other source of everyday exposure.

Smart-phones, which operate within networks of different technologies, as well as other portable wireless devices, like tablets and laptop computers, increased the complexity of the user's exposure and changed the exposed body region. Due to the different sources used next to the body, it is important to take into account multiple exposures for risk assessment, which may also require organ-specific dosimetry. This issue is also important for occupational exposure, since there may be situations, such as working in an MRI suite, where professionals are exposed simultaneously to EMF of multiple frequencies ranges, different temporal variations and field strengths.

The environmental exposure from sources is dominated by broadcasting antennas, antennas from private and governmental telecommunication services and mobile communications base stations. Historical data from spot measurement campaigns and continuous radiation monitoring systems indicate that the introduction of new mobile telecommunication technologies after the deployment of the GSM and UMTS systems did not substantially change the average levels of EMF in the environment. At the same time, other technologies, like digital broadcasting, have in some regions contributed to the reduction of EMF exposure from far field sources.

The number of sources has increased indoors. The installation of access points and short range base stations, such as 3G femtocells, WiFi hotspots and DECT devices, has given rise to exposure at very close distances (within 1 m), whereas farther away the emitted EMF does not exceed the common background 46 levels. Consequently, the emitted EMF from these devices, even when combined, still results in a marginal exposure compared to reference levels of European and international guidelines. In general, it appears that, with respect to telecommunication applications, the technological trend is to use low-power emitters, closer to or on the human body, and at higher frequencies.

Millimetre wave and THz applications are expected to be available soon in various industrial environments, such as for imaging systems used for non-destructive quality control, as well as for short-range broadband telecommunications. Currently, they do not significantly affect the average exposure of the general public. These applications will operate with low power and, due to the small penetration depth of the radiation, expose only superficial tissues.

Interaction mechanisms Several interaction mechanisms are well established. These enable extrapolation of scientific results to the entire frequency range and wide-band health risk assessment. They have been used to formulate guidelines limiting exposures to EMF in the entire frequency range from static fields to 300GHz. A number of studies proposed other candidate mechanisms. However, none that operates in humans at levels of exposure found in the everyday environment has been firmly identified and experimentally validated nor do they enable concluding on potential health risks at other exposure conditions both with regard to amplitude and/or frequency.

Health effects from THz fields The number of studies investigating potential biological, nonthermal effects of THz fields is small, but has been increasing over recent years due to the availability of adequate sources and detectors. In vivo studies indicate mainly beneficial effects on disorders of intravascular components of microcirculation in rats under immobilization stress, but do not address acute and chronic toxicity or carcinogenesis. In vitro studies on mammalian cells differ greatly with respect to irradiation conditions and endpoints under investigation. There are studies suggesting health effects of exposure, but these have not been replicated. Some theoretical 47 mechanisms have been proposed, but there is no experimental evidence for them. Considering the expected increase in use of THz technologies, more research focusing on the effects on skin (long-term, low- level exposure) and cornea (high- intensity, shortterm exposure) is recommended.

Health effects from Radiofrequency (RF) EMF Overall, the epidemiological studies on mobile phone RF EMF exposure do not show an increased risk of brain tumours. Furthermore, they do not indicate an increased risk for other cancers of the head and neck region.

Some   studies        raised     questions
regarding    an     increased     risk    of

glioma and acoustic neuroma in heavy users of mobile phones. The results of cohort and incidence time trend studies do not support an increased risk for glioma while the possibility of an association with acoustic neuroma remains open. Epidemiological studies do not indicate increased risk for other malignant diseases, including childhood cancer.

The earlier described evidence that mobile phone RF EMF exposure may affect brain activities as reflected by EEG studies during wake and sleep is further substantiated by the more recent studies. With regard to these findings, studies which aim at investigating the role of pulse modulation and which use more experimental signals, indicate that although effects on the sleep EEG are neither restricted to NREM sleep (one study also indicates effects in REM sleep) nor to the spindle frequency range. It seems that depending on the EMF signal, the theta and delta frequency range in NREM sleep can also be affected.

Furthermore, half of the experimental studies looking at the macrostructure of sleep (especially those with a longer duration of exposure) also found effects, which, however, are not consistent with regard to the affected sleep parameters. Therefore, given the variety of applied fields, duration of exposure, number of considered leads, and statistical methods it is presently not possible to derive more firm conclusions.

For event-related potentials and slow brain oscillations, results are inconsistent. Furthermore, there is a lack of data for specific age groups. One study indicates that children and adolescents seem to be less affected. The previous evidence that RF exposure may affect brain activity as reported by EEG studies during both wake and sleep appears 48 also in recent studies. However, the relevance of the small physiological changes remains unclear and mechanistic explanation is still lacking.

Overall, there is a lack of evidence that mobile phone RF EMF affects cognitive functions in humans. Studies looking at possible effects of RF fields on cognitive function have often included multiple outcome measures. While effects have been found in individual studies, these have typically been observed only in a small number of endpoints, with little consistency between studies. Symptoms that are attributed by some people to various RF EMF exposure can sometimes cause serious impairments to a person's quality of life. However, research conducted since the previous SCENIHR Opinion adds weight to the conclusion that RF EMF exposure is not causally linked to these symptoms. This applies to the general public, children and adolescents, and to people with idiopathic environmental intolerance attributed to electromagnetic fields (IEI-EMF).

Recent meta-analyses of observational and provocation data support this conclusion.

For symptoms triggered by short-term exposure to RF fields (measured in minutes to hours), the consistent results from multiple double-blind experiments give a strong overall weight of evidence that such effects are not caused by RF exposure.

For symptoms associated with longer- term exposures (measured in days to months), the evidence from observational studies is broadly consistent and weighs against a causal effect. However, it has gaps, most notably in terms of the objective monitoring of exposure.

Human studies on neurological diseases and symptoms show no clear effect, but the evidence is limited.

The previous SCENIHR Opinion concluded that there were no adverse effects on reproduction and development from RF fields at non-

thermal exposure levels. The inclusion of more recent human and animal data does not change this assessment. Human studies on child development and behavioural problems have conflicting results and methodological limitations.

Therefore, the evidence of an effect is weak. Effects of exposure on foetuses from mother's mobile phone use during pregnancy are not plausible owing to extremely low foetal exposure.

Studies on male fertility are of poor quality and provide little evidence."

17. It is evident from the perusal of the 49 aforesaid reports that the exposures to electromagnetic fields (EMF) do not have any notable effect on the health of human beings. Evidently, the studies conducted till date by the two premier organizations i.e. WHO and SCENIHR go to indicate that despite a large number of studies having been carried out for the last two decades to assess the potential health risk on account of emission of EMF, no major adverse health effect has been noticed.

18. What in fact emerges is that radio frequency radiation from the mobile towers and phones are in minuscule range and is lakhs of time weaker than X-rays or UV rays or even normal visible light. In fact, so low that they simply cannot cause any disturbance of electrons in the basic atoms of matter or living tissue and hence classified as "non-ionising radiation".

19. Radiation in itself is nothing new and has been there since life began on earth three and a half billion years ago. Radiation is all around us and we are all actually submerged in naturally occurring ionizing radiation reaching us from the outer space, even from the radioactive elements and materials around us. Sun shine in itself is a familiar form of radiation.

20. We in view of the overwhelming material are of the considered view that as of now there is no cause of alarm with regard to the possible ill-effect on human health by electromagnetic Field (EMF radiation) from mobile phone towers and mobile phones because the limits adopted in India cannot have any biological effect on human. In fact, the limits set by India are much lower than the internationally adopted recommendations of the International Commission of Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) which account for thermal and non thermal effect.

21. There is no conclusive evidence as on date which may have found any adverse health effect by EMF radiation from the mobile tower or mobile hand set by the WHO or SCENIHR and so long as EMP radiation power level in vicinity of Mobile Base Stations is below the prescribed limits, there should not be any cause or concern for adverse thermal effect on human beings living close to Mobile Base 50 Station or in the nearby vicinity.

22. Now in teeth of the report submitted by the WHO and another report submitted by the SCENIHR, the individual opinions relied upon by the petitioners to claim that the EMF radiations from the Mobile Base Stations are source of health hazard, for the time being, can conveniently be brushed aside as having no scientific backing whatsoever and therefore, any such reports relied upon by the petitioners shall have to give way to the opinion rendered by the WHO and SCENIHR. However, it appears that some myths are being spread and circulated simply in order to create fear amongst the people, but then as aptly said by Nobel laureate Marie Curie that "Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less."

In view of the aforesaid discussion, we find no merit in these petitions and the same are accordingly dismissed, leaving the parties to bear their costs.

Allahabad High Court in Smt. Asha Misran vs. State of U.P. & 7 Ors. (Public Interest Litigation (PIL) No.48084/2015) decided on 12.04.2016 has held as under:

"Having traversed and noticed the vast field of scientific material gathered by different committees and organisations, the precedents rendered on the subject we now proceed to deal with the issues raised before us on merits.

F. ON MERITS I. Whether the contention of the petitioners including those related to the deleterious effect of EMF radiation upon human health and safety is liable to be sustained?

The primary contention of the petitioners as noted above is based upon a perceived present and imminent danger to human health and safety caused by EMF 51 radiation. The report of Prof. Girish Kumar forms the fundamental bedrock upon which these submissions are based. We however find that this is not the first time that this report has been utilized or pressed into service for laying a challenge to the roll out and establishment of mobile towers. In fact this very report was noted by the Division Bench of the Court at Lucknow in Shriram Singh Jauharia when taking note of the said report the Bench constituted a committee to examine the conclusions and undertake a comprehensive review on the subject of EMF radiation and the ill effects of mobile telephony on human health. As the record would reveal and as would be evident from the findings of the committee that we have extracted above, the conclusion arrived at was that there was no material which justified the conclusions arrived at by Prof. Kumar. The Committee, in fact went to the extent of characterizing the perceived threats as voiced by Prof. Kumar as being a misrepresentation. Once that be the state of the record we find that the report of Prof. Kumar does not advance the case of the petitioners any further.

However since the issue raised in the petitions related to public health and safety and bearing in mind the command of Article 21 we delved even further to consider whether there was any material, which justified the invocation of our constitutional powers to injunct the seventh respondent from establishing the mobile towers or BTS's.

We felt constrained to burden this judgment with various extracts of the findings and recommendations of DOT, the Parliamentary Standing Committee as well as the WHO in order to establish that a plethora of material gathered by experts clearly negatives the perceived and alleged imminent threat and danger to health as was sought to be canvassed before us. All the experts have unanimously voiced their opinion that the present body of scientific research does not justify the threat to health and life as is sought to be portrayed by some quarters including the petitioners before 52 us.

On the above state of the record we find no merit in the challenge raised by the petitioners on this score. Bearing in mind the present conclusions and findings on the subject as expressed by experts across the board we find that there exists no justification for the submission of a present and imminent danger or threat to human health from the radiation emitted by mobile towers and BTS's. We further note that the studies undertaken both in India as well as by other international organizations have unanimously opined that the emissions from these equipments are minuscule and do not warrant the anxiety or fear which is sought to be generated in this batch of petitions. Our conclusion so recorded is of course not intended to relieve DOT or the Union Government from its obligation of continuing a scientific review of the subject. However in light of what we have found above, we rule against the petitioners insofar as Issue No. I is concerned."

In all the above mentioned judgments, the High Courts of Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Allahabad have unanimously held that till date no conclusive evidence exists to hold that the emissions of radio active waves from the Cellphone Towers cause danger to the public health. Delhi High Court in Resident Welfare Association vs. Union of India (Writ Petition (c) No.8661/2015) decided on 09.09.2015; Madras High Court in K.R. Ramaswamy @ Traffic Ramaswamy vs. The Secretary, Department of Telecommunication, Government of India & Ors. (Writ Petition 53 No.24976/2008) decided on 05.03.2015 and Kerala High Court in Reliance Infocom Limited vs. Chemanchery Grama Panchayat, AIR 2007 Kerala 33, Reliance Telecommunication Limited vs. S.I. of Police (Writ Petition (C) No.6433/2010) decided on 08.04.2010 and in Sudevan vs. Munder Grama Panchayat, 2013 (4) KHC 68 have also expressed the similar opinion.

The petitioners have failed to produce any material in support of their claim that the emissions from the Cellphone Towers cause serious health problems to the public at large, therefore, I have no reason to take a different view as has been taken by the various High Courts in the above referred judgments. Hence, the said contention of the petitioners is devoid of any merit and is liable to be rejected.

I have also considered the other contention of the petitioners to the effect that the respondents - State authorities, local bodies and the private telecommunication companies are not following the terms and conditions incorporated in the Government order dated 31.08.2012 and are not 54 complying the directions given by this Court in the case of Justice I.S.Israni (Retd.) (supra) while issuing no objection certificates for erecting cellphone towers or at the time of erecting the same.

The Urban Development Housing & LSG Department, Government of Rajasthan issued following terms and conditions vide order dated 31st August 2012, which reads as under:

"GOVERNMENT OF RAJASTHAN Urban Development Housing & LSG Department F.No. F.10(147)UDD/3/2008 Part-II Jaipur, Dated: 31 Aug 2012 Order M/s Infotel Broadband Services Ltd (IBSL) has approached State Government for permission to launch 4G mobile services in the State of Rajasthan by laying OFC cables and erection of Ground Based Mast (for starting 4G mobile services in the State of Rajasthan). Initially the service is proposed to be launched in the seven divisional headquarters namely- Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, Ajmer, Udaipur, Bikaner and Bharatpur. Subsequently other towns will be covered.

Based on extensive discussions and examination of proposal of Company (Service provider) it has been decided to allow M/s Infotel to lay OFC wherever possible by using HDD methodology, laying of overhead OFC from fibre to home and establishing GBM for 4G network in the cities of Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, Ajmer, Udaipur, Bharatpur and Bikaner on the following Terms and conditions:-

1) Service provider shall obtain necessary permission for laying Optical Fiber Cable Network under roads and overhead and installation of GBM in the cities from concerned urban local bodies or JDA/JoDA/UIT as the case may be. In the walled city area or in the areas of Heritage importance the poles/mast shall be designed keeping in view to maintain the Heritage character of the area which need to be approved separately by the local authority.

2) The work shall be started from the outer areas of the selected cities and then they may proceed to the core area.

3) That the NOC's of other authorities whenever necessary including Traffic Police shall be obtained and the conditions 55 thereof shall be binding.

4) Only pits of approximate size 2m x 2m x 1.5m depth or as per requirement at site shall be excavated in the roads where Optical fiber Cables are to be laid at the distance of approximately every 100m. The pits shall be refilled only with granular material and shall be compacted as per the specifications. The pits/trenches shall be reinstated within 72 hours after the work at the location is over, falling which, penalty as applicable as per the guidelines for trenching activity, shall be applicable.

5) Damages of roads and filling up of pits caused during of erection of GBMs & laying of underground cabling will be repaired by concerned ULB and the entire cost, at double rate of the above work for restoration of damaged road portion shall be charged by the local bodies from the service provider. Such charge may be taken in advance in the form of 100% cash or 50% cash plus 50% Bank Guarantee valid for One year. The amount of deposit money will be decided by State Government.

6) Only single user Mast will be erected instead of multiple operators which causes radiation problem.

7) Before operationalising Antenna installed over the residential roof-top, test report of radiation limit will be taken from the approved agency (like IIT) approved by State Government.

8) Minimum width of road 30 feet on which GBMs will be installed.

9) GBM will not be installed within the premises of Schools, Hospitals, Sports grounds & 500 mtrs radius of Jail campus.

10) Number of ducts under the roads for which permission will be granted by the Local authority shall be as per the requirement of IBSL.

11) If so desired by ULB, M/s IBSL shall provide for Bandwidth up to 2 MBPS free of cost to the ULB for its own use.

12) The service provider will carry out GPR survey wherever necessary along with route where the ducts will be laid for detection of existing utilities. The data of utilities collected through GPR Survey should be unconditionally shared with Local Authority, free to cost.

13) No damage shall be caused to any other underground utilities while laying the ducts by using Horizontal directional Drilling Methodology. In case any utility is damaged, the damage so caused to the other utilities, shall be rectified at the Service providers costs/ the expenses towards rectification of the damages shall be borne by the company.

14) Ducts shall be laid approximately 2 mtrs below the road crust.

15) The cost of shifting conduits/OFC, whenever required, shall be borne by M/s IBSL and instructions of local authority in this respect shall be complied with in the time frame prescribed.

16) Local Authority shall not be responsible for any damage to OFC and resultant losses, if any, due to any act of employee of Govt. while performing official duties.

17) Service provider shall make proper arrangement for access control of the chambers, to avoid misuse/illegal use of ducts and the chambers.

18) For erection of Ground Based Masts (GBMs), service provider shall be permitted to erect GBMs at specified locations on roads over the ground area not more than 3mt x 3mt. The spacing between the two GBMs to be erected shall not be less than 200 mt. in line of sight.

19) For laying overhead OFC from fiber to home network shall be permitted to erect poles on specified locations on roads over the ground area not more than 1m x 1m. The spacing between two poles should not be less than 50m in line of the sight.

20) Service provider shall fix only those equipments on the towers for electricity, generation (battery etc.) which cause minimum noise and environmental pollution. Also the radiations from the tower shall not exceed the limit prescribed by Govt. of India.

21) The Structural Stability of the GBMs structurally safe shall not be taken by the company and the GBMs and their foundations shall be designed accordingly.

22) Service provider shall be solely responsible for any mishap, if it takes place during or after erection of the GBMs. The service provider shall indemnify Local Authority against such mishap and its consequences.

23) Service provider shall allow advertisement boards on atleast ten percent of these GBMs as per the policy of ULBs and the sole discretion of Urban Local Body.

24) The height of GBMs shall be 25 mtrs maximum subject to clearance from Airport Authority whichever applicable. In case tower height exceeds the height of 25 mtrs technical assessment of height required shall be done by I.I.T/N.I.T./Telecom Consultants of India Ltd. A Govt. of India Undertaking (T.C.I.L.).

25) 10% of the total GBM will be inspected by the technical department concerned of Govt. of India. Also State Government/ULB will get the technical testing of at least 25% of total GBM through independent technical agencies such as IITs to check the radiation norms every year.

26) Service provider shall pay the following charges to the Urban local body:-

Registration and annual charges as levied by the ULB from time to time as per policy of State Government for the GBMs in the urban area.

Annual charges @ 5% of DLC rate for such GBM, which are installed on any land belonging to ULB. This will be for the ground area affected by construction/erection of GBM or any other structure of Service Provider.

27) Apart from the above mentioned charges, Service provider shall also provide the following:-

(a) Security Surveillance Cameras of High Resolution for Police use on all Ground Based Masts (GBMs), free of cost along with free bandwidth required for the same in consultation with Police Deptt and mutually agreed terms. Minimum number of Surveillance cameras shall be 1000 for Jaipur, 800 each for Jodhpur & Kota, 500 each for Ajmer, Bikaner & Udaipur and 300 for Bharatpur.

(b) In case ULB require High Mast lighting instead of Surveillance Cameras the same shall be fixed by Service Provider but necessary spares shall be provided by ULB. However, the work on the towers shall be done by IBSL personnel only without any delay. The cost of power consumed for street lights shall be borne by ULB.

(c) Ten percent GBMs will be allowed to be used free of cost for hoardings by the local body.

(d) Service Provider in addition to security cameras, Street lights, hoardings for State Govt. will maintain at least 5 major parks/roundabouts/open spaces in each proposed city based on the proposal from the local body. In Jaipur 7 major parks/roundabouts/open spaces will be maintained.

28) Service provider will prepare for each proposed city a detailed plan for erecting GBMs after consultation with concerned ULB. The plan shall be sanctioned by the ULB within a period of 30 days. In case it is not sanctioned within the stipulated period the Company can approach DLB who will take a decision in this case. Only after approval of the plan the work will be started.

29) Service provider will prepare a Draft MOU to be entered in to between M/s IBSL and Local Body and submit the same in case of Jaipur to the DLB & for other towns to the respective Urban Local Body for approval comprising of all above terms and conditions.

      Sd/-                                         Sd/-
(Tarachand Meena)                              (N.L. Meena)
Director Local bodies                  Deputy Secretary -III"

The validity of the order dated 31.08.2012 has already been upheld by the Division Bench of this Court in Justice I.S.Israni (Retd.) (supra), wherein this Court has issued the following 58 directions:

"(1) That let the towers from hospitals be removed within a period of two months from today.

(2) That let towers from Colleges be also removed within two months from today. (3) That since State Government has fixed the time for removal of towers within vicinity of 500 meters from the jail premises within six months, let it be implemented within the time prescribed by the State Government in its order and bye- laws dated 31.8.2012.

(4) That in case any tower is existing near ancient monuments or old heritage building, the removal be considered by the State Government and local authorities concerned examining on facts on individual basis whether removal is necessary within two months from today.

(5) That similarly, the towers on playgrounds may also be looked into and appropriate action be taken within two months from today.

(6) That with respect to mobile handsets and issue of clearance for installation of mobile towers, guidelines issued by DoT mentioned above be strictly enforced. (7) That public be educated and made aware of different mobile sets in use whether they are as per norms or not.

Public be also informed about ill-effects of mobile handsets and towers and precautions which are necessary as per guidelines issued by Dot. In this regard, let steps be taken by DoT and COAI etc. to advertise them by different modes of communications.

(8) That the State Government and the Local Authorities to take decision on case wise basis with regard to installation of towers in the densely populated areas in accordance with law. Considering individual grievance, they can order removal of dangerous towers which are not established as per norms and are erected without the permission. Thus, we give liberty to the petitioners in the public interest litigation to approach the State Government/Local bodies in this regard. (9) That as the regulatory body has been framed by the Central Government in the form of Telecom Enforcement, Resource 59 and Monitoring (TERM) Cells, the Government may consider whether it is appropriate to change its constitution by including the member of general public so as to generate confidence in the public. (10) That with respect to constant monitoring etc., requisite directions have been issued by DoT and in the report of Inter-Ministerial Committee which has been accepted by the Government of India be implemented as early as possible. (11) That while granting permission for installation of towers, the concerned bodies to consider number of mobile towers in area, what would be the effect on the health of people in case towers are permitted to be erected and to minutely consider various other safeguards.

It is informed that certain directions given in the judgment rendered in Justice I.S.Israni (Retd.) (supra) have been stayed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in a Special Leave Petition, wherein challenge has been laid to the above referred judgment.

Be that as it may, there is no doubt that the respondents - State, Local Bodies and the private telecommunication companies are required to follow the terms and conditions incorporated under the order dated 31.08.2012 and the directions issued by the Division Bench of this Court in Justice I.S.Israni (Retd.) (supra) subject to any stay order passed by Hon'ble Supreme Court. In almost all the petitions, it is averred that while issuing no objection 60 certificates to the private telecommunication companies, the respondents - State and the local bodies have not complied with the terms and conditions of the order dated 31.08.2012 as well as the directions given by this Court in the case of Justice I.S.Israni (Retd.) (supra). The respondents have denied the contention of the petitioners and claimed that the terms and conditions of the order dated 31.08.2012 and the directions given by this Court in case of Justice I.S.Israni (Retd.) have been followed.

I have gone through the record of the Municipal Corporation, Jodhpur in respect of provisional NOCs issued by it to the telecommunication companies for erection of Cellphone Towers.

In some of the petitions, the petitioners have specifically stated that the local bodies have issue no objection certificates for erection of the Roof Top Cellphone Towers on the buildings, which are in dilapidated condition and are not strong enough to bear the load of the towers. It is contended that those Cellphone Towers are located 61 in the densely populated area and since the buildings, on which the same are erected, are not strong enough to bear the load, the towers may fall at any time and may cause huge loss to the public and property.

On the other hand, the private telecommunication companies have asserted that along with the applications for granting no objection for erecting cellphone towers submitted before the local bodies, they have submitted stability certificate issued by the qualified consultants certifying that the structural stability of the building where the mobile tower is proposed to be erected is not endanger due to the proposed installation. It is submitted on behalf of the private telecommunication companies that the buildings where the cellphone towers are proposed to be erected or have been erected are fully safe and no danger exists to the public at large.

However, in some of the petitions, the petitioners have also annexed copies of representations filed by them before the authorities of the local bodies and the officers of the administration, however, it appears that the same 62 were not addressed properly, because after going through the record of the Municipal Corporation, Jodhpur, I find that the authorities of the Municipal Corporation, Jodhpur before issuing the NOCs for erection of the Roof Top Cellphone Towers on old buildings did not record their satisfaction regarding sustainability of the building regarding bearing of the load of the Cellphone Towers.

In the pleadings rival claims have been made by the parties regarding various factual aspects and on account of that several disputed questions of facts have arisen. I am of the view that the same cannot be decided on the basis of affidavits and counter affidavits filed by the parties concerned.

Looking to the above fact situation, I deem it proper to direct the local bodies i.e. respondent -

Municipal Corporations, Municipal Councils, Gram Panchayats and other Local Bodies to conduct a survey of all the buildings, on which the Roof Top Cellphone Towers are permitted to be erected. The Local Bodies shall also conduct a survey in respect of all the Cellphone Towers including Ground Based Mast, Roof Top Antenna Towers and Wi-Fi Antenna 63 to ensure the compliance of the terms and conditions of the order dated 31.08.2012 and directions given in the judgment rendered in case of Justice I.S.Israni (Retd.) (supra) subject to any stay order passed by Hon'ble Supreme Court. The said survey should be conducted within a period of four weeks from the date of production of certified copy of this order.

Needless to say, where the local bodies found that the structure of the building is not strong enough to bear the load of Roof Top Cellphone Towers, it shall take appropriate action in accordance with law forthwith after providing reasonable opportunity of hearing to all concerns.

The Local Authorities shall also ensure that in respect of all Cellphone Towers, the terms and conditions of the order dated 31.08.2012 and the directions given by this Court in case of Justice I.S.Israni (Retd.) (supra) should be complied with in full letter and spirit subject to any stay order passed by Hon'ble Supreme Court. Any violation of the terms and conditions of the order dated 31.08.2012 and the directions given in the 64 judgment rendered in case of Justice I.S.Israni (Retd.) (supra) will follow the consequences.

With these observations, these writ petitions are disposed of.

Consequently, the applications filed under Article 226(3) of the Constitution of India in some of the writ petitions are also disposed of.

All the interim orders granted in these writ petitions are hereby vacated.

Stay petitions stand dismissed.

( VIJAY BISHNOI ),J.

m.asif/PS

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Rajasthan High Court - Jodhpur