Corporators in the Improvement Committee of the BMC today demanded that penalty be increased to Rs one lakh from the present Rs 5,000 to ensure strict action against illegal mobile towers in the city.

Penalty should be made Rs one lakh from the current Rs 5,000 levied on the network providers while regularising them, they said.

"The BMC has taken action against only 145 towers and collected a penalty of Rs 24,708. This means for every illegal tower the BMC collected Rs 170.40. If the BMC is not able to take strict action against illegal towers, then it should regularise them by imposing minimum penalty of Rs one lakh. At present the amount charged is too less," Shiv Sena Corporator Manmohan Chonkar said.

There are approximately 4,200 towers in the city, of which 1,628 are illegal.

Corporators also demanded that the BMC, before granting permission for towers, must look into the health and safety aspect and also fix an age criterion for buildings beyond which installing of towers should not be allowed.

According to the Development Control rule amended in 2000, mobile companies need to get structural stability certificate from a certified architect and housing society's no-objection certificate to put-up a tower on terrace.

The Improvements Committee of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has regularized 1,107 illegal mobile towers since 2007.

According to the civic body, since 2007, permissions for 3,357 mobile towers had been asked from the BMC with only 1,107 getting the nod yet.