Buildings in Chennai Violates Building Norms
A safety audit conducted by the Fire and Rescue Services department in 2009 found that 90% of the buildings on Ranganathan Street in T Nagar had violated building norms, including fire safety rules. The department is unable to issue fire licences because of the lack of fire and safety measures.None of the 38 buildings has responded to the show-cause notices issued by the Fire and Rescue Services.
This was disclosed by the Fire and Rescue Service, Chennai south division, in reply to an RTI application filed by V S Jayaraman, secretary, Motilal Street Residents Welfare Association. In the RTI reply, however, the officer said various measures were taken to prevent fire and minimize the response time in the congested area. Shop owners were informed about the deficiencies in fire and life safety arrangements in their premises and this arrangement is partially addressing some of the problems in most of the commercial buildings, the officer said. The department has set up a new fire station at T Nagar, with one more fire unit and 17 fire fighters.
The department is unable to issue fire licences because of the lack of fire and safety measures. “In the absence of stringent legal provisions, traders and builders are not spending a few lakhs of rupees for fire safety,” the divisional fire officer said in his reply.As the Fire and Rescue Services have no power to seal the building that defies the rules, the Chennai Corporation and Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority were asked to take action against those who failed to respond to the show-cause notices.
Meanwhile, the local community is irked over the traders’ defiance of the rules. “Instead of shirking its responsibility by saying that the traders failed to respond to notices, the department should have initiated stern action against them,” said V S Jayaraman. The residents have been waging a war against unauthorised commercial developments for the last two decades, but to no avail.
In its meeting on Friday, the high court-appointed monitoring committee directed the Chennai Corporation to hold public consultations on its proprosed T Nagar re-development plan to decongest the area.
In the RTI reply, however, the officer said various measures were taken to prevent fire and minimize the response time in the congested area. Shop owners were informed about the deficiencies in fire and life safety arrangements in their premises and this arrangement is partially addressing some of the problems in most of the commercial buildings, the officer said. The department has set up a new fire station at T Nagar, with one more fire unit and 17 fire fighters.
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