With nearly 50 per cent of mobile towers functioning illegally from residential areas in the city, Noida authority has decided to launch a drive against the mobile tower operators. The authority decided to take the step after founding irregularities in the installation of these towers.

In a joint inspection by a team of Noida Authority and city police a few months ago, majority of towers were found running without following proper guidelines. The team also found that around half of the towers were installed atop residential buildings which is against the norms laid by the Central Government and High Court.

According to officials, there are nearly 600 mobile towers in the city of which nearly 300 are functioning illegally. Nearly 20 per cent mobile towers are operating from the roof tops of hospitals and institutional buildings and only 30 per cent towers are established in commercial areas which are following the proper guidelines.

A senior official said that despite several notices of Noida authority, the mobile tower operators are not removing the towers from the residential areas which are totally illegal. These operators have established their tower in residential areas which is harmful for the residents. "We had earlier asked the mobile tower operators to remove their towers from the residential units in the city. We have submitted notices nearly 17 times but are still waiting for their reply," the official said.

He added that the authority is planning to convene a meeting to take strong action against the mobile tower operators. In 2010, we had sealed nearly 200 towers and if these companies do not remove their towers, we would repeat our steps again.

The president of the Federation of Noida Residents Welfare Assiocaion (FoNRWA), NP Singh said that due to large number of mobile towers in and around residential sectors, people are facing health related problems. The residents are suffering from diseases due to radiation from these towers.