Fire safety nod: 15 more buildings under MCG lens, probe ordered

Gurgaon: After ordering departmental action against three officials of the fire department for allegedly taking bribes to issue no-objection certificates (NOC) to five towers of a residential project in Gurgaon, MCG has now issued notices to the developers of 15 more buildings — residential and commercial — which got NOCs without “fulfilling the mandatory parameters”.
In the notice, the civic body has directed the developers of these buildings to construct a second staircase as per the norms. At the same time, a probe has been ordered to fix the responsibility of officials who were involved in the issuance of the NOCs to these buildings in clear violation of norms, TOI has learnt.
MCG commissioner Mukesh Ahuja, in his report, has claimed that the deputy director (technical) of the fire department found that these 14-15 buildings were issued NOCs between 2016 and 2020, despite having just a single staircase each. He has also recommended a vigilance probe into the issue.
A senior official said, “The MCG has been receiving complaints from the occupants that these buildings have been issued NOCs by the fire department, which is a must for getting the occupation certificate, even after having only one staircase against the mandatory two.”
Sources said these NOCs were issued to the 15 buildings by some fire officials in connivance with the developers, and in certain cases, “bribes have been paid”.
As per the National Building Code, 2005, a minimum of two staircases are required for multi-storey buildings of height more than 15 metres. But most of these buildings are much higher than the minimum prescribed height.
Last week Ahuja wrote to the director general of fire and emergency services, Panchkula, recommending departmental action against three fire department officials under the Haryana Civil Services (Punishment and Appeal) Rules, 2016 for allegedly taking bribes to certify five residential towers of an upscale condominium in Sector 85 two years ago.