MCG orders probe into alleged anomalies in issuing fire NOC to several buildings
Gurugram:
Gurugram:
Acting on the complaints about the discrepancies in issuing no objection certificates (NOCs) to several buildings in the city by the fire department, the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) has directed its vigilance wing to investigate the alleged irregularities.
MCG officials on Friday said that they had been receiving complaints on their social media account of buildings across the city operating with fire NOCs despite having various discrepancies.
On MCG’s Twitter account, since February, several residents have lodged complaints regarding improper fire NOC being given to a freight forwarding agency in DLF Phase 4, a mall in Sector 53, a school in Sector 12, private hospitals on Sheetla Mata Road, Jharsa Road, and Sector 17A, among others.
Taking cognizance of the complaints, MCG commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh directed the vigilance wing on Thursday to start an investigation into issuance of fire NOCs, the officials said.
“We have been receiving complaints through social media regarding various violations in fire NOC. We have asked the fire department for files. We are also looking at the rules of the fire act closely to check if there were any violations on behalf of the fire department while issuing NOCs,” said Amardeep Jain, additional commissioner who heads MCG’s vigilance wing.
In Gurugram, the fire department falls under the ambit of the MCG.
IS Kashyap, assistant divisional fire safety officer, said that the fire department is yet to receive any communication from the civic body in this regard. “The MCG has not asked for any specific files regarding fire NOCs. If they do, we will comply with their direction right away,” said Kashyap.
The action by the MCG comes less than six days after a blaze occurred at a hand sanitiser manufacturing company in Kherki Daula which took 30 hours to douse.
The sanitiser manufacturing company was allegedly operating with a conditional fire NOC as the company was yet to procure a building plan certificate from the MCG. The fire department had given the company six months to get a building plan based on which the conditional NOC was issued.
An MCG official privy to the matter said that a building plan is one of the key components for approving any residential or commercial establishment to start operations.
“A building plan discloses the type of layout of the building such as its exit and entry points, the width of its corridor, among other such key issues, which are taken into account especially for rescue operations before giving final approval. Hence, the fire department giving conditional NOC without a building plan may have been negligent. Fortunately, the building where the fire occurred in Kherki Daula had the requisite entry and exit points or else it could have led to fatalities,” said the official.
