By I C Naik
Cellphone radiations effect on humans has not been conclusively established, but mobile towers are making news and cooperative society managements are unable to fix the problem so far.
In an extreme case of presumptive effect on Senior citizen’s life, the Cembur Police in Mumbai reportedly got a 75 year old lady visitor with a complaint against such unauthorized structure.
She occupies a top floor flat and as per her strong conviction prime reason of her deteriorating health is the radiation emitted by the unauthorized mobile tower and 8-10 heavy telecom cables which surround her flat. According to secretary’s confirmation also a few residents died of cancer, but the effect of radiation has been far from a scientifically proven matter.
The lady is one Mrs. Jessie D’Souza who returned to her Chembur flat after a four months’ stay elsewhere, with completely cured of wounds in foot, but within days at Chembur Flat, she started getting the pain back with boils and rashes. Her joints also started paining a lot. Her husband Mr. F. D’Souza added that the sleepless nights they had after these towers were installed has added to their woes.
What actions the Police will take in the matter is any body’s guess! How will Mrs. J D’Souza be treated for these problems are an area of medical field.
However, cooperative housing society law could be harsh with management, for allowing the use of terraces on the buildings of cooperative housing societies. The CHS is governed by the bye laws and most Model Bye Laws provide for a very limited use of terrace as under:
Bye Law No 170-171 both read together:
The society shall not let out or give on leave and licence basis or permit any subletting, giving on leave and licence basis any open space available under the stair-cases or any other part of the property of the society to any person whether the member of the society or not, for any purpose whatsoever.
However as an exception the Committee may allow temporary use of the terrace of the society’s building by any member, on his written application, for any function, subject to such restrictions and on payment of such charges to the society as the meeting of the general body of the society may decide.
The Committee may, with the previous permission of the Local Authority, if needed, allow exhibition of advertisement boards on any part of the building including terrace, on such terms and conditions as are approved by the general body meeting.
Where even exhibition of advertisement boards is not possible without prior permission of the BMC, any reference of installation of tower being absent in Bye Laws in force as also in the Model 2013 in waiting, if the matter of mobile towers flares up it is not difficult to guess what can happen to the management of that society.
The 97th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2011 has robed the Cooperative Department of the opportunity to manage cooperative housing societies through an administrator and as such a lot of time has been released for officials to look in to irregularities of these natures.
Whether the cellphone towers do emit radiation and is a risk to human health may not be conclusively proved sooner, but it’s consequences could be seen elsewhere. And it may be noted that the Society we are talking about is one situated near RCF Colony in Mumbai.