High-rises in Andhra Pradesh violate fire safety laws
The recent fire tragedy in New Delhi’s Anaj Mandi revealed the clear ignorance for fire safety laws across the country. Following the incident in which 43 people lost their lives, the state municipal administration department decided to take stock of the fire safety arrangements in place.
In the process, it was reported that of the 4,000 high-rises located under the jurisdictions of all municipal corporations in the state of Andhra Pradesh, only 1,400 have the required no-objection certificates (NOCs) from the fire services department. As most of the defaulters are colleges, hospitals, and gated communities.
The state municipal administration department has directed all municipal corporations to make a report on fire arrangements in place in the state.
Interestingly, the report says that all the multiplexes and theatres in the state have the required NOC.
As much as 75% of buildings under the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) do not have NOCs. At the same time, 250 colleges within GVMC limits that required this NOC, only 50 have it. There are even some hospitals that do not have the required NOC to run their services, the official added.
Even the fire safety department official too accepted that most buildings in the state do not adhere to fire safety laws. According to them, this is because of the various loopholes in the Act, causing it easy for people to skip out with flouting rules.
An official of the department said that they have to follow a lengthy process to take action against defaulters. They have to issue notices 3-5 times before taking any action.
The official further added that they have completed these formalities and initiated court cases against 20 buildings in Visakhapatnam currently.
