Fire scare triggers capital-wide inspections; Delhi govt eyes single-window licensing

DFS principal director directed all divisional officers and assistant divisional officers to conduct immediate and thorough fire safety inspections of all restaurants, hotels and clubs, among others.

New Delhi: The Delhi Fire Service (DFS) has directed its field officers to immediately conduct fire-safety inspections across restaurants, hotels and clubs in the capital. The move follows the recent Goa fire incident and the upcoming festive season.

The CM urged hoteliers and restaurant owners to adopt mist-fogging systems on rooftops as a pollution-mitigation measure.

The directive came hours after chief minister Rekha Gupta announced that the city would soon permit third-party fire audits and introduce a single-window licensing system to ease operational hurdles for the hospitality sector. She was addressing the inaugural session of ‘Summit 2025-Viksit Delhi, Viksit Tourism & Hospitality.

In an official order issued on Wednesday, the DFS principal director directed all divisional officers (DOs) and assistant divisional officers (ADOs) to conduct immediate and thorough fire safety inspections of all public assembly premises such as restaurants, hotels and clubs, among others. The order said that fire incidents usually increases during Christmas and New Year.

Citing the Goa accident, the order stated, “Officers must verify the functional status of fire-prevention systems and ensure compliance with building by-laws under Rule-33 of Delhi Fire Service Rules, 2010.”

“Additional reforms are being planned to ensure a single-window system for licences issued by agencies, including Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and the Delhi Government. The new regime is aimed at simplifying compliance and strengthening safety oversight,” said Gupta.

She further urged hoteliers and restaurant owners to adopt mist-fogging systems on rooftops as a pollution-mitigation measure. Gupta added that the mechanism has already been deployed at several locations in Delhi and would be expanded further.

Delhi home minister Ashish Sood said that to improve inter-departmental coordination, instructions have been issued to the GST authorities and the MCD to share detailed data with the DFS on bars, restaurants, hotels, temporary structures, pandals and similar establishments.

“This data will support improved risk assessment, focused inspections and timely preventive action. The government will not tolerate any lapse in the issuance of licenses or in inter-departmental data sharing. The aim is to tighten regulatory oversight and rationalise procedural bottlenecks so that lawful businesses are encouraged to comply voluntarily,” Sood said.

Surendra Kumar Jaiswal, Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Association of India (FHRAI) president, said the decision to allow third-party audits would reduce delays. He added that the association had showcased a dry-fogging technology that uses nearly 90% less water compared to anti-smog guns.

The summit also featured discussions on strengthening Delhi’s brand identity, sustainable tourism and workforce alignment. Senior officials from MCD, ITPO and several hotel groups spoke on improving urban cleanliness, safety and infrastructure to position the capital as a global events destination.

Gupta told industry stakeholders that additional reforms were being drafted to promote events and conferences in Delhi, adding that the government intended to project a more welcoming image of the national capital for domestic and international visitors.