No fire safety clearance, 1,200 buildings in Gurugram issued notices

Notices were issued to 667 paying guest (PG) accommodation owners, 90 hotel owners, 20 guest house owners and 120 restaurant operators, while the remaining notices were served on coaching centres and high-rise residential buildings

The Gurugram fire department has issued notices to the owners of more than 1,200 buildings for operating without mandatory fire no-objection certificates (NOCs), following an ongoing survey covering over 10,000 properties across the city, officials said.

The fire department’s inspections come amid separate enforcement drives against unsafe buildings and unauthorised PG accommodations in the city. (HT)

According to officials, notices were issued to 667 paying guest (PG) accommodation owners, 90 hotel owners, 20 guest house owners and 120 restaurant operators, while the remaining notices were served on coaching centres and high-rise residential buildings. The properties were also found to lack adequate firefighting equipment and essential safety measures, officials said.

The inspections focused on the availability of firefighting infrastructure, including sprinkler systems, water hydrants and emergency exits.

The drive was launched in early June, following a fire at an illegally operated bed-and-breakfast facility, Flourish Stay, in Delhi’s Hauz Rani on June 3, which killed at least 23 people. Officials said the facility was subsequently found to have violated multiple fire safety norms.

Under the National Building Code and Haryana Fire Service regulations, buildings above 15 metres in height are required to obtain a fire NOC and install essential safety systems, including fire extinguishers, water pipelines, alarms and sprinklers.

HT had earlier reported that seven fire department teams were deployed to inspect buildings across the city. Narendra Kumar Yadav, fire safety officer in Sector 29, said the survey would continue after Diwali.

Officials said building owners found violating fire safety norms are given a stipulated period to install the required equipment and apply for or renew their fire NOCs. Follow-up inspections are also conducted in some cases.

“So far, we have issued notices to the owners of these buildings. Further action will be taken if they continue to violate fire safety norms,” Yadav said.

The fire department’s inspections come amid separate enforcement drives against unsafe buildings and unauthorised PG accommodations in the city.

The Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) has identified 87 unsafe buildings within its jurisdiction and issued show-cause notices to 66 owners, with action against the remaining properties underway.

The civic body has also identified 1,625 illegal and unauthorised PG accommodations operating without the required licences, registrations and fire safety clearances. Of these, 276 are in Haryana Shehari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) sectors, 492 in licensed colonies, 856 in MCG areas and one in an area under the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC), officials said.