Only 5 govt schools in district have fire safety permit: RTI

Assistant divisional fire safety officer IS Kashyap said, “Government schools don’t have any valid NOCs. After the Surat fire tragedy (2019), we surveyed all schools and coaching institutes. Some never applied, while others were not able to meet the norms.”

Only five government schools in the district have valid fire safety permits, shows information shared by the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) in response to a query filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act by activist Aseem Takyar. The MCG, last Friday, wrote that 128 government schools did not have valid no-objection certificate (NOC), and objections had been issued for the same.

Image used for representational purpose only. (HT file photo)

As per the Haryana Fire Service Act, all educational institutions must have an NOC, without which a building is not deemed fit to tackle a potential fire hazard.

Assistant divisional fire safety officer IS Kashyap said, “Government schools don’t have any valid NOCs. After the Surat fire tragedy (2019), we surveyed all schools and coaching institutes. Some never applied, while others were not able to meet the norms.”

Government school administrators, however, said they had basic fire fighting measures in place but did not have the funds to meet norms stated by the fire safety department for an NOC.

“We have applied for an NOC multiple times, but there are many requirements that the school is unable to meet. We don’t have the money. The rules require that a fire extinguisher is placed in every lab, staffroom and kitchen, among other places. Just buying the equipment is not enough, there’s maintenance involved,” said Suman Sharma, principal of Government Model Senior Secondary School in Sector 4/7, Urban Estate, which is among the schools that do not have a fire safety permit.

“The government should allocate funds. They should get estimates done based on the location and size of the school,” she said.

District education officer Premlata Yadav reiterated that schools had basic fire safety arrangements in place.

“Government schools may not have all the safety equipment, but they do have their own arrangements. For example, all schools may not have sand buckets, but they have earthen pots that can be used when needed. Government schools are spacious and there is enough open area for students to escape,” Yadav said, adding that funds for improving fire safety were issued occasionally and were used as needed.