The Andhra Pradesh Government has decided to amend a Government order that gave complete freedom to the telecom tower companies in installing towers and other telecom equipment on third party properties.
The GO, issued on Tuesday, had deleted the clause from an earlier GO that mandated the tower firms to submit a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the landlord concerned and from the owners of the surrounding buildings.
The telecom tower infrastructure industry wanted the State Government to remove a clause in the order that called for NOC from the neighbours too. Instead, the Government removed the entire clause four that sought no NOC from the building owner, creating a flutter.
The older GO, issued in 2008, asked the applicants to get approval from the Air Traffic Controller of Airports Authority of India in order to install towers, base receiving stations and mobile network equipment.
It wanted the tower firms to take precaution for fire safety and lightning.
They should also submit a legally binding undertaking that they would own responsibility for public safety and the structure.
The fourth clause made in that order wanted the firms to get an NOC from the owner of the building and also from the owners of adjacent buildings.
On January 1, B. Sam Bob, Principal Secretary (Municipal Administration and Urban Development Department), issued an order amending the GO by deleting the last clause.
This evoked a strong reaction from the public, forcing the State Government to take corrective measures.
“We are not going ahead with this. We will issue a separate order,” sources in the Government said.
Letter to AAI
The Principal Secretary wrote a different letter on January 1, seeking clarification from them whether the applicants needed to take an NOC from the authority.
“We would like to know whether they need a different or the NOC or site clearance certificate given by the Standing Advisory Committee for Frequency Allocation’s Wireless Planning and Coordination Wing is sufficient,” he said in the letter.