Impact of Communication Towers on Wildlife

Expert Group to study the possible impacts of communication towers on Wildlife including Birds and Bees.

India is one the fastest growing mobile telephony industries in the world. It is estimated that by 2013, 1 billion plus people will be having cell phone connection in India. To support this growth of cell phone subscriber in the country, there has also been a tremendous growth of infrastructure in the form of mobile phone towers. Today, in absence of any policy on infrastructure development and location of cell phone towers, large numbers of mobile phone towers are being installed in a haphazard manner across urban and rural areas including other sparsely populated areas in India.

The transmission towers are based on the electromagnetic waves, which over prolonged usage have adverse impacts on humans as well as on other fauna. The adverse effects of electromagnetic radiation from mobile phones and communication towers on health of human beings are well documented today. However, exact correlation between radiation of communication towers and wildlife, are not yet very well established.

The Ministry of Environment and Forests usually receives several questions regarding this issue. In view of one such Lok Sabha Starred question regarding ‘Ill effects of Mobile Towers on Birds’ received on 11th August, 2010, an ‘Expert committee to Study the possible Impacts of Communication Towers on Wildlife including Birds and Bees’ was constituted on 30th August, 2010 by Ministry of Environment and Forest, Government of India.

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