PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Thursday ordered the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to conduct a survey of the mobile phone base transceiver stations (BTS) threatening people’s health across the province and produce a report.

A bench consisting of Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan and Justice Ahmad Ali fixed July 29 for the next hearing into a petition of resident Mohammad Naeem, who has claimed that the BTS installation near schools, mosques and populated areas adversely affected health of the residents.

EPA director general Dr Mohammad Bashir submitted a report regarding the court’s earlier directions for the removal of hazardous stations, commonly known as mobile towers, by phone companies and the orders were complied with in Peshawar.

He said the EPA had traced 57 such stations, while the relevant mobile phone companies removed deficiencies.

The DG said currently, Peshawar had no unsafe BTS.

Petitioner says base transceiver stations threatening people’s health

Alamzeb Khan, lawyer for cellular mobile operators, requested the bench to dispose of the petition after the production of the EPA report.

The petitioner’s lawyer, Noor Alam Khan, however, objected to it and said the EPA’s compliance report was about Peshawar and not rest of the province.

He said the EPA should examine base transceiver stations across the province.

Dr Bashir said in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic, the agency had run short of staff and as several BTS were situated in far-flung areas, so more time was required to conduct such a survey.

He said several staffers had quarantined themselves due to the deadly virus.

The bench observed that it would adjourn the case by the end of next month and that the EPA would have sufficient time to conduct the survey and identify stations threatening people’s health.

Assistant director (legal) of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority Jawad Akhter and additional advocate general Syed Sikander Shah also appeared before the bench.

The petitioner has requested the court to issue directions to different respondents, including PTA, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa EPA, KP government through environment secretary and heads of different mobile phone companies, to avoid the installation of base transceiver stations and microwave antennas in sensitive areas around schools, hospitals, parks and crowded residential areas.

He has also requested the court to issue direction to the relevant respondents to protect the people from the hazards of environmental pollution caused by these stations through the implementation of the zoning laws for environmental protection.

The petitioner sought the court’s orders for the respondents to implement international conventions and policies for the protection of environment from the radiations emitted by base transceiver stations and microwave antennas.

He claimed that the mobile towers were installed on roof tops of plazas and at other places across the province especially in Peshawar.

The petitioner said the towers posed health hazards by emitting microwaves at the frequency of 1900 megahertz and thus, adversely affecting every biological organism within the radius of one square kilometer.

Published in Dawn, June 12th, 2020