The Hindu
MANGALORE, Apr 15: Telecom towers have come up again in the vicinity of Bajpe airport, posing danger to aircraft operations.
Private telecom companies recently erected four towers within 5-km radius of the airport without the approval of the Airports Authority of India (AAI). The AAI has given a three-day deadline to three companies which are using these towers to reduce the height of their towers or face action.
The towers have come up just within a year after officials at the airport noticed a 45-m tower of a private telecom company at Kaikamba near the airport. Then the AAI had asked the company which had erected the tower to reduce its height in April, 2007 before its commissioning.
Two at Ganjimath
M.R. Vasudeva, director of the airport, told The Hindu that of the four towers, three were at Ganjimath and one at Bajpe. Of them, two were owned by one company and they were put at Bajpe and Ganjimath. The other two towers at Ganjimath belong to two different companies.
Breach of norms
One of the towers at Ganjimath is 60-m high and the other two are 45 m 29 m. They are within 5 km air distance from the airport and at the approach surface to the runway. The 35-m high tower at Bajpe is at 2 km distance from the airport. As per the norms, the towers should not be more than 15-m high. However, this norm could be relaxed depending on the elevation of the site.
Warning
“We noticed them during our environment management survey. They can pose danger to flying aircraft at any time. The companies concerned have been warned,” Vasudeva said.
Approval
He said that the companies should have obtained clearance from the Standing Advisory Committee on Radio Frequency Allocation (SACFA), under the Union Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, for frequency allocation. “A copy of the same should be produced to the airport. They can erect towers only if the AAI gives ‘no objection certificate’. But the three companies have flouted all rules,” Vasudeva said.
Plan of action
He said that the airport authorities were planning to file a criminal complaint against the companies if they did not reduce the height of the towers within the stipulated time. “We can initiate action against them under Section 9 of Aircraft Act, 1934,” he added.
Gram panchyat’s role
He said that the gram panchayats had permitted the companies to erect towers without insisting on no objection certificate from the AAI. The panchayats should not have permitted these companies without clearance from AAI, he said.
Denial
S. Abdul Majeed, president, Ganjimath gram panchayat, said that the panchayat had given permission to these companies on the condition that they obtain NOC from the AAI.
Communication
The airport officials, who visited the panchayat a week ago, had informed him that the companies had not applied for AAI’s approval. “If the airport authorities write to us in this regard, we will remove them or ask them to reduce the height immediately,” Mr. Abdul Majeed said.
Vasudeva said that this problem had been brought to the notice of district administration.