Tragic lift accident sparks urgency for lift safety law in U.P.
According to officials aware of the issue, the draft of the law has been revised and sent and resent to the government several times over the last five years, but the final action is still awaited.
LUCKNOW The tragic incident in which four workers died and five others suffered injuries on Friday morning when a service lift had a free fall at an under-construction high-rise group housing society in Greater Noida has brought the lift safety issue back into focus, yet again.
Incidentally, only a week ago, Chief Executive Officer of the Noida Authority, Lokesh M, wrote a letter to the state authorities here, suggesting an early enactment of a lift law on the lines of ones enacted by several other states to ensure the safety of lift users in high-rise buildings.
“We did receive a letter from the Noida CEO, and we informed him that the draft law was ready, and further action would be taken in due course of time,” an energy department official said, requesting anonymity.
Even as lift accidents continue to occur in various cities across the state, Uttar Pradesh has been sitting on the proposal to enact a law to regulate lift installation, operation, maintenance, and fix accountability in the event of a mishap.
According to officials aware of the issue, the draft of the law has been revised and sent and resent to the government several times over the last five years, but the final action is still awaited.
“The final draft of the proposed Uttar Pradesh Lift and Escalator Act was sent to the energy department on October 7, 2021, for clearance after several rounds of meetings and amendments since the proposal was first mooted in 2018 in view of an increasing number of lift malfunctions,” said an official from the electricity safety department.
The draft, he said, was revised again recently in active consultation with the government and sent to the energy department before the commencement of the State Legislature session convened in August with a view to tabling a bill in the Vidhan Sabha to enact the law. However, this did not happen.
Director of Electricity Safety, GK Singh, said that he forwarded the draft law to the government immediately after he took over the charge around a month and a half ago due to the seriousness and urgency of the matter related directly to public safety.
“We have drafted the proposal after studying lift laws of some other states, primarily of Maharashtra and Gujarat, incorporating all possible aspects needed to ensure safe lift operations,” he added.
The government, Singh pointed out, might make suitable changes in the proposal before the same took the shape of a bill and passed in the Legislature. States like Haryana, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, and Jharkhand are said to have already enacted laws for the safe installation and operation of lifts.
A Ghaziabad resident and office bearer of the Association of Apartment Owners, Alok Kumar, filed a PIL in 2015, seeking directions from the state government to formulate and implement comprehensive regulations for the safe installation, maintenance, and licensing of lifts and escalators in private and government buildings. “The PIL is still active,” another official of the energy department said.
While additional chief secretary of energy, Mahesh Kumar Gupta, was not available for comment on the status of the proposed law and reasons for the delay in its enactment, energy minister AK Sharma did inform the state assembly here on August 11 that the promulgation of the Lift and Escalators Act in Uttar Pradesh was underway.
He was responding to a question asked by two Gautam Buddha Nagar MLAs - Dhirendra Singh and Pankaj Singh. Both MLAs from the BJP raised the issue in the House, citing several incidents of lift malfunctions and accidents in high-rise buildings in Noida and other parts of the state.
