News: MCG directs banks to get licence for ATMs with dish antennas; or to be sealed-27-03-2021
MCG directs banks to get licence for ATMs with dish antennas; or to be sealed
According to a release issued by the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG), banks erecting dish antennas on automated teller machines (ATMs) are now required to obtain a licence from the civic body
According to a release issued by the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG), banks erecting dish antennas on automated teller machines (ATMs) are now required to obtain a licence from the civic body. The MCG will seal such ATMs without a licence, said the officials.
The MCG, however, has not announced a deadline for obtaining the licence.
As per the provisions of the Haryana Municipal Corporation (Communication and Connectivity Infrastructure) Bye-laws, 2013, an applicant is required to pay a processing fee of ₹10,000 per antenna, a licence fee of ₹5,000 per antenna per annum, and a compounding fee of ₹2,500 per antenna per annum if the person has already put up an antenna without obtaining a prior permission from the MCG. The applicant can obtain a licence from the civic body after paying all the above, said the MCG officials.
The official data provided by the MCG’s planning branch revealed that many banks have installed ATMs within the limits of the MCG area without taking any prior permission from the civic body, according to RS Bhath, district town planner (DTP), MCG.
“Since October 2020, such banks have been constantly directed to submit applications for regularisation of illegal dish antennas installed on the ATMs after paying the requisite fee and the charges, but none of them have submitted applications for the same,” said Bhath.
Hariom Attri, joint commissioner, MCG, said that if the banks concerned don’t obtain licences, the MCG will start sealing their ATM booths.
In July 2020, the MCG’s planning branch had asked Prahlad Rai Godara, lead district manager (LDM), for submitting contact details of all the banks in the city. Subsequently, the MCG had issued notices to all the banks concerned in October 2020, to share details of their ATMs — according to the locations and get them regularised under the bye-laws. According to the LDM data in 2020, there are around 537 bank branches in urban areas of the city, and 1,489 ATMs in Gurugram.
Earlier, the Haryana accountant general (audit) had directed the MCG in July 2016, to seal around 400 ATMs in the city, if the banks failed to obtain licenses under the bye-laws within 90 days.
