Meghalaya Health Department Asked to Find Out Impact of Mobile Tower Radiation

The Meghalaya High Court has directed the state's health department to conduct a survey to find out the adverse impact, if any, of radiation emission from mobile towers on the health of people residing near them.

"The state government through the Department of Health shall conduct a survey to find out the adverse impact if any, on the health of people of localities situated near the towers in question as a result of radiation emitted by mobile towers," a division bench of the High Court headed by Chief Justice Uma Nath Singh said in the July 15 order.

The High Court bench also issued a notice to the secretary, Telecommunication, to file his personal affidavit on the matter, the next hearing of which will be held on July 29.

The matter was taken up by the court after a person S P Das provided details of alleged violation committed by mobile towers put up by various telecom companies.

The court, which summoned these service providers, also rejected an inspection report submitted by Telecom Enforcement, Resource and Monitoring (TERM) NE-1 director Kulwinder Kumar.

It observed, "We do not find any information as to the limit of emission of radiation by the towers and the equipment being used for measuring the radiation before giving the findings that all the parameters are within the limit".

Terming the report as "evasive", the bench directed the secretary, Telecommunication, to file his personal affidavit on the matter.