All hotels, guest houses in Delhi to be checked for violations

Soon after the fire in Hotel Arpit Palace that killed 17 people, a three-member SC appointed panel had asked the north corporation to inspect kitchens and basements of guest houses, hotels and restaurants in Karol Bagh.

The Supreme Court-appointed monitoring committee may soon send notices to all civic bodies asking them to inspect guest houses and hotels across the city for violations and submit a report.

Firefighters outside Hotel Arpit Palace after a massive fire broke out at the hotel, at Karol Bagh, New Delhi, on Tuesday, February 12, 2019. (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo)

“We have drafted a note to be sent to deputy commissioners of all zones in the three municipal corporations as well as the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) to survey establishments for building bylaw violations and fire NOCs, among other things. The status report along with the committee’s findings will be submitted in the Apex court,” said a committee member.

The report will have to be submitted with all requisite details of the structures, the member said.

The move comes in the backdrop of a massive fire in a guest house — Hotel Arpit Palace — in central Delhi’s Karol Bagh on February 12 that killed 17 people. Soon after the incident, the three-member panel had asked the north corporation to inspect kitchens and basements of guest houses, hotels and restaurants in Karol Bagh.

A senior north corporation official said, “We are surveying all establishments in Karol Bagh. We will extend the drive to other zones if directed.”

The monitoring committee members along with corporation officials had visited the spot last week and observed that the number of unauthorised constructions in the area had “multiplied” since 2006, when the first sealing drive was conducted.

The municipal agencies, the member said, use the Special Provisions Act as an excuse for not taking action against violations in the area, even on streets. All establishments in the area constructed before February 2007 are immune from punitive action till 2020, under the Special Provisions Act.

Since the February 12 fire, the committee has been receiving a number of complaints against the flouting of norms by commercial establishments in Karol Bagh.

Meanwhile, continuing its drive against non-conforming buildings in Karol Bagh, the Delhi government on Tuesday said the fire department suspended 101 fire safety certificates until Sunday. “Since February 13, a total of 145 buildings were inspected out of which FSCs of 101 have been cancelled. Delhi government will not compromise on fire safety,” said home minister Satyendar Jain.