Telecommunications service provider Claro is under more scrutiny today as the Bruce Golding administration's man in charge of local government, Robert Montague, has ordered a probe into its erection of cellular towers.

Local government officials yesterday confirmed the probe, but refused to provide details, saying the matter would be addressed by Montague when the findings are provided.

According to the officials, Montague is concerned about the numerous charges being levelled against the company by parish councils.

Disregarding rules

Already, The Gleaner has confirmed that several mayors have complained that Claro has been erecting towers without regard for the rules governing building permits.

Chairperson of the Manchester Parish Council, Brenda Ramsay, and her counterparts from St Mary and St Catherine are among those who have warned that they will be taking court action to put the brakes on the company.

Claro has reportedly already built 397 of the almost 600 cellular towers that it has projected to erect, but there is no evidence that the vast majority of these have been approved by the councils.

No green light

According to information reaching The Gleaner, in St Thomas, applications were submitted for 20 cell towers with only 12 getting the nod from the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), but 22 are under construction or have been constructed.

It is a similar story in St James, where 31 applications were submitted, 17 approved by NEPA, eight given the green light by the council, but 32 towers are under construction or have been constructed.

In the Corporate Area, Claro has completed work on 38 cell towers, while the evidence suggests that only 23 were approved by NEPA.

However, Mayor of Kingston Desmond McKenzie says Claro has been complying with the rules.

"I don't know when the list says only X amount were approved because that might relate to a time and the approvals are ongoing," McKenzie said.

"I won't say we are not having issues, but it is not as pronounced as before and the problem is with all the cellphone providers, not only Claro."

Problems with all providers

He said the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation has met with all the providers with another meeting scheduled for next Tuesday when the issue of construction beginning before approval is given will be discussed.

"We have had one or two cases where they start erection before the approval and we have made it clear that this is not the process," McKenzie said.

Officials of Claro have remained mostly silent on the controversy, but attorney-at-law Harold Brady, who represents the company, has claimed that it is not at fault.

According to Brady, any breach is to be laid at the feet of the company contracted to construct the towers.

However, checks by The Gleaner have revealed that where applications have been submitted for building permits, these are in the name Oceanic Digital Jamaica, the operator of Claro.