A Mumbai civil court has turned down a plea seeking stay on the construction of tower observing that there is no substance in the argument that electro-magnetic emissions are hazardous to human life.

The court maintained that it rejected the plea in the absence of any evidence that the erection of the mobile tower and base centre is illegal or violates any law or rules.

On the basis of the WHO report and the committee of experts constituted as per the writ petition state, the Court observed that there is no substance in the argument that Electro Magnetic emissions are hazardous to human life.

Recently the government of India has adopted most stringent safety guidelines for EMF exposure which is 1/10th of the ICNIRP standards (which is considered to be the safest in the world with over 90% of the countries having adopted the ICNIRP guidelines). At the same time, the Government has also acknowledged that there is no conclusive evidence that can link EMF emissions from Mobilebase stations to health hazards and that the lowering of exposure limits is a precautionary measure.

Industry lobby the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) welcomed the court’s order and stated that it vindicates the industry’s long-standing position that mobile towers and base stations in India are fully compliant with the safety, environmental and health norms prescribed by the Government of India and puts to rest many concerns raised by sections of the media on the issue recently.

“The industry has always been compliant with norms related to exposure limits and will continue to work actively along with the Department of Telecom to ensure that compliance is maintained in this area”, said  Rajan S Mathews, Director General, COAI.