Reliance Projects and Property Management Services (RPPMS), a firm owned by Mukesh Ambani, has approached the Supreme Court seeking a stay on certain provisions of Haryana’s municipal and panchayati raj laws that regulate the erection and maintenance of telecommunication infrastructure, including Right of Way (RoW) permissions and associated charges.
The company has also sought a stay on any actions or demands being raised for RoW charges, arguing that these are contrary to and exceed the limits prescribed under the Telecommunications (RoW) Rules, 2024.
A Bench headed by Justice PS Narasimha, while issuing notices to the Haryana government and others on petitions filed by RPPMS and others, declined to stay the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s full bench decision delivered in December. The judgment had upheld the Haryana government’s legislative competence to regulate the erection and maintenance of mobile communication towers, including RoW charges and permissions.
Reliance argued that only Parliament is empowered to legislate on matters related to the erection and maintenance of telecom networks, including mobile towers and optical fibre cables, and the ceiling of applicable charges. It noted that relevant central laws have already been enacted and corresponding rules framed.
Citing the Indian Telegraph Right of Way Rules, 2016, the company stated that a standard fee of Rs 10,000 for mobile towers and Rs 1,000 per kilometre for underground telegraph infrastructure was prescribed, with no provision for additional charges. The 2016 rules were amended in 2022 to specify the maximum permissible fees, compensation, and restoration charges that may be levied by an “appropriate authority.”
While some states amended their frameworks in line with the central RoW Rules, Haryana and Punjab continued to levy high RoW charges, including for telecom infrastructure installed on private property, the company stated in its appeal.
Further, Reliance contended that with the implementation of the Telecommunications Act, 2023 and the Telecommunications (RoW) Rules, 2024, the central government had issued directions in November 2024 to all states, instructing them to clarify and implement the new rules. Consequently, state laws regulating mobile communication infrastructure are no longer enforceable, it argued.
