State introduces special fire safety regulations for vulnerable buildings after HC rap

Maharashtra updates fire safety regulations for vulnerable buildings after court warning, mandating fire towers, lifts, and electrical inspections.

MUMBAI: A day after the Bombay High Court warned of stopping all planning permissions sought for development in the city upon failure to take necessary steps to enforce fire safety norms for vulnerable buildings, the state government has taken action. On Thursday, it notified amendments to the Development Control Promotion Regulations 2034 (DCPRs) for the city by introducing special fire safety regulations for buildings vulnerable to man-made disasters. This includes schools and colleges, public/private trust hospitals, malls, religious shrines, commercial buildings and headquarters of major business houses.

State introduces special fire safety regulations for vulnerable buildings after HC rap

Under the amendment, these buildings would be required to make special provisions for fire towers having a minimum two-hour fire resistance, firemen evacuation lift and a ventilated lobby as an integral part of the fire escape staircase.

High-rise buildings with heights of 90-mtrs or above should provide break tanks with fire pumps at every 65 metres from the ground. The water tank system may be provided on service floors or the floors having refuge areas. The facilities must be properly maintained by the housing societies or owners of the buildings after completion of the building and issuance of occupancy certificate.

Taking due note of the fact that most fires in urban areas are caused because of short circuits or faults in electrical fittings. The recent amendments to the DCPR make it mandatory for builders to submit a certificate from licensed electrical engineer at the time they submit proposal for occupancy certificate. This certificate verifies examination of the electrical installations. It also mandates periodic inspection of the electrical installations every five years.

A separate notification has been issued to amend the Unified DCPR making the special fire safety provisions mandatory for urban areas across Maharashtra.

This comes after the court warned of stopping all permissions for new constructions in the city if the urban development department failed to indicate the timeline for issuing fire safety notifications. The order was passed in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by activist-lawyer Abha Singh raising a grievance that though the draft special fire safety regulations were formulated in 2009 in the aftermath of 2008 26/11 terrorist attack, nothing has been done to implement the same. The PIL sought directions for the issuance of the final notification on Special Regulations for Buildings Vulnerable to Manmade Disasters in the DCPR-2034 for Mumbai. Acting on the PIL, on July 31, the court had granted two months to the state to finalize and issue the notifications. Singh’s advocate also pointed out that people are losing lives, the latest victims being seven members of a family in Siddharth Nagar in Chembur, and the proposed amendments have not been introduced.