120 eateries, guest houses, banquets in Delhi wait for fire dept clearance to operate

Around 120 establishments in Delhi — restaurants, guest houses and banquet halls — have run out of validity to operate as their no-objection certificates (NoC) have

Around 120 establishments in Delhi — restaurants, guest houses and banquet halls — have run out of validity to operate as their no-objection certificates (NoC) have lapsed and the owners are not being able to renew their documents due to the Covid-19 lockdown.

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To get their NoCs renewed, the operators have approached the Delhi Fire Services, which says it cannot carry out a mandatory clearance inspection till all lockdown restrictions are lifted.

The department advised people to make sure the banquet halls or guest houses they have booked had renewed permission to hold functions.

All such facilities in Delhi are required to have basic firefighting norms to operate. After a detailed inspection, the Delhi Fire Services issues them a NoC , which is valid for three years.

To ensure safety measures are in place, the fire department checks for a particular width of exit staircases, at least two entrances and exits in case of an emergency, restricted number of seating as per the space available, no blocked passages and arrangements for basic firefighting equipment, etc.

A senior fire officer, who wished not to be named, said they get renewal requests throughout the year. “Many banquet halls and guest houses have said they have bookings for weddings and requested for the NoC. But since the lockdown was imposed in March, our department is not dealing in public services due to government restrictions and so no inspections have been conducted nor NoCs issued. 120 requests are pending with us,” the officer said.

All these facilities are shut not at present because of the lockdown. “Once restrictions are lifted, they will have to stay shut till their NoCs are renewed. We advise people to make sure the places they are booking are valid permission to organise functions,” the officer said.

Atul Garg, director of Delhi Fire Services, confirmed that 120 establishments could not be inspected due to the lockdown. “The number of requests for NoC renewal is expected to rise till the time lockdown is in force,” Garg said.

Anshu Tandon, president of the Khan Market welfare association, said the New Delhi Municipal Council had two days ago told a few restaurants to obtain NoCs from the Delhi department or face action. Khan Market has 35 restaurants, out of which only four have valid NoCs at present.

“It is a double whammy. Our restaurants are shut and the fire department is not issuing any clearance. The pendency is so much, it will be difficult for the fire department to give us our clearances on time,” he said.

Tandon said this was harassment as restaurants with a seating capacity of less than 50 do not need a fire clearance. “This is why just four of our restaurants have NoCs from the fire department at present,, he said.

Dinesh Arora, president of the Delhi restaurants association, suggested that NoCs can be issued online.

“If government lifts restrictions tomorrow, many of us will still not be able to function because of pending NoCs. We have already suffered losses . The government should allow us to operate either without fire NoC or expedite the process of inspection by issuing NoCs online,” Arora said.

In Connaught Place alone, Arora said, there are at least 70-80 restaurants that are waiting for the green light.