Explain fee hike for ‘illegal’ mobile towers, HC tells MCD

After having restrained the Municipal Corporation of Delhi from sealing allegedly illegal mobile towers, the Delhi High Court today sought an explanation from the civic body MCD for raising the charges for mobile operators that have installed such towers from Rs1,00,000 to Rs5,00,000.

Justice Kailash Gambhir asked the MCD to file its reply within two days explaining the rationale behind increasing the fee. "What is the rationality behind taking such decision? What prevailed in the minds of the MCD people while raising the fee?'' the judge asked.

The high court had on 13 May restrained the civic body from sealing illegal mobile phone towers in the capital after the mobile operators approached it challenging the decision of the MCD to hike the charges.

The mobile operators had contended that the decision of the MCD to hike the charges was "arbitrary" and without any sound basis.

The MCD had started sealing illegal mobile phone towers after the deadline for operators to apply for regularisation after paying the hiked amount expired.

The MCD had said that out of 5,364 towers in the city, only 2,412 have requisite permission and the remaining 2,952 were illegal in all the city's 12 municipal zones.

The civic body had earlier sealed 300 illegal towers and given several deadlines to the tower operators to apply for regularisation in keeping with new guidelines.

The MCD had on 9 February brought in a new policy on mobile towers. According to the revised guidelines for cell towers, the amount payable by the service providers to the MCD for installing a tower has been increased from Rs1 lakh to Rs5 lakh.