Cleaning up rooftops: ‘BTS towers are only adding to the city’s problems’
SHC directs chief secretary to restrict mushroom growth of BTS towers of cellular companies.
The Sindh High Court directed the provincial chief secretary to look into the mushroom growth of the base-transmission service towers installed by cellular companies in the residential localities in violation of laws. DESIGN: ESSA MALIK
KARACHI:
The Sindh High Court directed the provincial chief secretary on Tuesday to look into the mushroom growth of the base-transmission service (BTS) towers installed by cellular companies in the residential localities in violation of laws.
SHC Chief Justice Mushir Alam, who headed the bench, passed this direction while hearing multiple petitions seeking removal of the BTS towers installed atop the residential buildings in violation of the building and environmental laws.
On March 15, the court had ordered the director-general of the Sindh Building Control Authority to convene a meeting of the cellular companies and other regulatory bodies to devise a strategy to restrict the unruly growth of such towers, which, according to the petitioners, transit rays hazardous to the human health.
The DG, who was made chairperson of the committee formed to devise the mechanism, was asked to finalise the proposed draft.
On Tuesday, the judges came to know that nothing had been done, terming the minutes of the meeting convened by the SBCA DG as ‘eyewash’.
The judges remarked that the negligence on the part of the authorities was adding to the miseries and worries of the city which was once known as the city of lights. They said that the city is now being turned into the jungle of concrete with the mushroom growth of the unpleasant sites of the BTS towers.
The bench recalled that earlier, the attention of the authorities was drawn to the models in Malaysia, where the BTS towers are installed in a centralised place. The bench directed the provincial chief secretary to look into the matter and ensure that the mushroom growth of the BTS towers is regulated and restricted.
Cold-shoulder by cellular companies
The additional advocate-general Meeran Muhammad Shah informed the court that the cellular companies had not come forward with a solution.
Chief Justice Mushir Alam remarked that the cellular companies will never come forward to bother about the sanctity of the city. “It was the regulatory authority’s job to discipline them and to bring light to the city,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 28th, 2013.
The Sindh High Court directed the provincial chief secretary on Tuesday to look into the mushroom growth of the base-transmission service (BTS) towers installed by cellular companies in the residential localities in violation of laws.
SHC Chief Justice Mushir Alam, who headed the bench, passed this direction while hearing multiple petitions seeking removal of the BTS towers installed atop the residential buildings in violation of the building and environmental laws.
On March 15, the court had ordered the director-general of the Sindh Building Control Authority to convene a meeting of the cellular companies and other regulatory bodies to devise a strategy to restrict the unruly growth of such towers, which, according to the petitioners, transit rays hazardous to the human health.
The DG, who was made chairperson of the committee formed to devise the mechanism, was asked to finalise the proposed draft.
On Tuesday, the judges came to know that nothing had been done, terming the minutes of the meeting convened by the SBCA DG as ‘eyewash’.
The judges remarked that the negligence on the part of the authorities was adding to the miseries and worries of the city which was once known as the city of lights. They said that the city is now being turned into the jungle of concrete with the mushroom growth of the unpleasant sites of the BTS towers.
The bench recalled that earlier, the attention of the authorities was drawn to the models in Malaysia, where the BTS towers are installed in a centralised place. The bench directed the provincial chief secretary to look into the matter and ensure that the mushroom growth of the BTS towers is regulated and restricted.
Cold-shoulder by cellular companies
The additional advocate-general Meeran Muhammad Shah informed the court that the cellular companies had not come forward with a solution.
Chief Justice Mushir Alam remarked that the cellular companies will never come forward to bother about the sanctity of the city. “It was the regulatory authority’s job to discipline them and to bring light to the city,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 28th, 2013.