Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has proposed low radiation levels for the cell towers based on the report submitted by the inter-ministerial group (IMG). As per the proposed norms the radiation level per cell tower should be less than 1-watt per sq metre-reducing it to 1/10th the current permissible norm, according to Ram Kumar, former advisor (operations/technology) with the DoT. This was revealed at a conference on "Radiation Health Hazards from Cell Towers: Myth or Reality" organised by the Bombay Telephone Users' Association (BTUA). The programme had a panel of experts from the fields of medical research, physicists, bio-technology and consumer activists. According to current norms, the area within a six-metre radius of your tower is defined as dangerous, despite many buildings have these towers and many more buildings are not very far from these towers either. The panel members strongly felt that the present radiation norms adopted by India as per "The International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) guidelines are outdated, not suitable, and should be reviewed in the Indian context considering factors like body mass index, nutritional intake, population density, etc."
