The state government of Karnataka in India is introducing new legislation that could have the effect of making the majority of telecom towers installed in the city of Bengaluru (Bangalore) illegal.
The new rules, set to be introduced in the next two weeks, will require a plan or occupancy certificate to be approved for all buildings hosting telecom towers, the Economic Timesreported.
According to the report, an estimated 5,500 of the 6,700 towers installed in Bengaluru lack these approvals, and will become unauthorized once the new rules come into effect.
Under the proposed regulations, tower operators would be required to submit a range of documents covering areas including location and site plans, occupancy certificates, lease agreement deeds and a no-objection certificate from the city's fire department.
But state officials are divided over what to do about the existing unauthorized tower once the regulations come into effect.
While some believe that approving towers built on buildings that have violated building codes and regulations would be dangerous as it would regularize the entire building, others believe that it will be next to impossible to remove towers from illegal buildings considering how dependent the world has become on mobile communications.
The Bengaluru council is expected to craft a city-specific policy on regularizing the towers shortly.