The High Court on Tuesday asked the chairman of Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) to formulate guidelines for the use of towers by mobile phone companies.

An HC bench of Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed and Justice Md Salim asked the BTRC chairman to submit the draft guidelines before the court within eight weeks.

Earlier, on March 28, the High Court ordered the Health Ministry to prepare a detailed report with the help of experts of three international organisations over the health risks of radiation that emits from the country’s mobile phone towers.

The three international organisations are World Health Organization (WHO), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP).

The court asked the ministry to submit a progress report on the steps and asked the BTRC to submit a progress report on the draft guidelines being prepared by it on radiation by April 10.

Advocate Manzill Murshid who stood for writ petitioner said the Health Ministry informed the court that it has taken an initiative to take opinions from three organisation and they need three months for the job.

 On the other hand, the BTRC failed to formulate the guidelines within the stipulated time and sought time.

On March 22, the Health Ministry submitted a report on the radiation levels of cell-phone towers to the High Court with a directive to the BTRC to take necessary measures to lower the degree of radiation.

According to the Health Ministry report, the mobile phone towers are emitting high levels of radiation which is injurious to health.

In 2012, Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh filed a petition before the High Court over the radiation levels of mobile phone towers. It also sought a directive to determine the health risks through the WHO.

The High Court later asked the authorities concerned to look into the radiation level, health risks and environmental impacts caused by the radiation.

It had also asked the Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission to submit a report on the radiation level after visiting the mobile phone towers of different companies.

Besides, it had issued a rule asking the relevant authorities to explain why the plaintiffs should not be directed to take effective measures to stop the emission of radiation from the mobile phone towers.