The recent fire mishap in New Delhi’s Anaj Mandi exposed the blatant disregard for fire safety norms across the country. Following the incident which claimed 43 lives, the state’ municipal administration department decided to take stock of the fire safety arrangements in place.
In the process, it was revealed that of the 4,000 high-rises located under the jurisdictions of all municipal corporations in the state only 1,400 have the required no-objection certificates (NOCs) from the fire services department.
The department has instructed all municipal corporations to prepare a report on fire arrangements in place in the state.
A senior official of the municipal administration department said, “Of the 4,000 buildings in the state, only 1,400 have the mandatory NOC from the fire services department. Most defaulters are colleges, hospitals and gated communities.”
Interestingly, the report says that all multiplexes and theatres in the state have the mandatory NOC.
In areas under the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC), at least 75 per cent buildings do not have NOCs. An official informed that of the 250 colleges within GVMC limits that need this NOC, only 50 actually have them. There are even some hospitals which do not have the NOC, the official added.
Officials of the fire safety department too accepted that most buildings in the state do not adhere to fire safety norms. This, according to them, is because of several loopholes in the Act, making it easy for people to get away with flouting norms.
An official of the department said, “We have to follow a lengthy process to take steps against defaulters. We have to issue notices between three to five times before taking any action.
“We have completed these formalities and initiated court cases against 20 buildings in Visakhapatnam currently,” the official added.