Telecom service providers will soon have to scout for new locations for their mobile towers as the government has issued a gazette notification to remove the structures falling within 100m of educational institutions and health hubs.

Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) will table a proposal for adopting the rules at its next standing committee meeting. Once the rules passed by the state cabinet are adopted, the civic body will serve notices on the telecom operators in the state capital.

The cabinet had approved the Bihar Communication Towers and Related Structures Rules, 2012, on February 14 this year. The rules prohibit setting up of mobile towers within a radius of 100m of schools, colleges and hospitals. The urban development department issued the gazette notification, which is mandatory to enforce the rules, on October 10.

“The adoption of applicable acts and rules by the standing committee is mandatory before enforcing them by urban local bodies in Bihar. We have prepared a proposal for the adoption of the Bihar Communication Towers and Related Structures Rules, 2012. It would be tabled in the next meeting of the committee. Upon adoption of the rules, we would send notices to the telecom operators for compliance with the provisions,” a senior PMC officer said.

The urban development department had issued a letter on October 25 to all urban local bodies, asking them to start fresh registration of mobile towers and collection of fees. The letter stated that all demand letters related to the mobile towers before the gazette notification should be annulled and fresh demand letters based on the new registration and annual rental rates served to the telecom companies.

The PMC officer said: “Once the notices are served on the telecom operators, they would have to apply afresh for registering their towers.”

Dr Rajiv Ranjan Prasad, professor of physiology, Patna Medical College and Hospital, said radiation from mobile towers caused fatigue and cataract and reduced mental concentration. “While the radiation is extremely hazardous for pregnant women and children, it can even lead to cancer under extreme circumstances,” he added.

Sources in the civic body said at present there are around 1,000 mobile towers in Patna. However, most of them are not registered and the companies have not been paying registration and annual charges to the PMC under the Bihar Municipal Act, 2007. The annual revenue generation from mobile towers in the capital can be up to Rs 15 crore, said sources.

Telecom operators said th-ey would co-operate with the civic body and comply with the state’s rules for mobile towers. Ashok Kumar, general manager (mobile), BSNL, said: “We have asked our legal department to make an assessment of the new rules related to mobile towers.”