Only 2% of 10,000 buildings renewed fire NOCs this year

Pune: Municipal commissioner Kunal Kumar has directed the fire, health and building permission departments to conduct a fire safety audit, even as it emerged that less than 2% of tall buildings in the city have renewed compliance certificates.
As 2017 draws to a close, only 200 of 10,000 buildings (15m or higher) have renewed no-objection certificates (NOC) issued by Pune Municipal Corporation's fire department.

The civic chief issued the orders in the wake of the tragic Mumbai fire accident that claimed 14 lives. The departments concerned must submit a joint report by January 15. Officials who fail to do so will face disciplinary action, warned Kumar.

In his two-page order to department heads, Kumar told the chief fire officer to appoint special squads to conduct an audit of public places, buildings and establishments that attract crowds in large numbers.

The PMC city engineer will identify illegal constructions or alterations in every ward and will conduct a drive to check illegal use of buildings for commercial purposes. Health department officials, meanwhile, will check if commercial establishments have proper permits to run hotels, restaurants or pubs.

Additional commissioners will conduct weekly review meetings of the departments. "Only 10,000 tall buildings have received a final NOC from us, which needs to be renewed every year. Only 200 have renewed their NOCs," said chief fire officer Prashant Ranpise.

When asked why no action was taken against the defaulters, Ranpise responded: "The responsibility lies with the owner of the building or the builder. We are extremely short-staffed, with just 10 qualified officers. The law also doesn't require us to check buildings."

He said the punishment for defaulters varies, with the worst being that building is sealed.