The state fire safety director will issue no objection certificates (NOCs) for high-rise buildings and special 500sqm structures under the Nagpur Metropolitan Region Development Authority (NMRDA).
In a recent order, the state government has divested the Nagpur Municipal Corporation’s fire department of the power to issue provisional NOCs to projects under NMRDA.
The new unified development plan control rule (UDCPR), which came into force from December 2020, bars the NMC’s fire department from issuing provisional NOC or permanent fire compliance to any high-rise project outside the city limits.
“The move has delayed most projects under NMRDA’s jurisdiction,” said developers Vinod Kubde, who has submitted his objections to the state government’s decision. Rules stipulate that unless a developer gets a provisional fire NOC, one cannot submit the building plan to the NMRDA for sanction.
With no fire stations under NMRDA jurisdiction, state fire director Santosh Warik has been authorized to issue provisional fire NOC and subsequent compliance certificates to all high-rise projects as per UDPCR.
Developers and builders who have taken up projects claimed that since the new rule came into force, their projects have hit a roadblock. Now, they have to travel to Mumbai to seek a provisional NOC from the state fire director’s office. It is not a one-day work and many times, the top official is not available in the office, builders claimed and added that travelling during the pandemic always poses a health risk.
Builders said the UDCPR was published on December 2, 2020, but the city chief fire officer continued to issue provisional fire NOC from December 2, 2020, to May 5, 2021. And now suddenly, the CFO’s office has stopped the service citing UDCPR.
Chief fire officer Rajendra Uchake admitted that the NMC’s fire and emergency services department has stopped issuing such provisional NOCs.
A delegation of Credai Nagpur also met NMRDA commissioner Manojkumar Suryawanshi and municipal commissioner Radhakrishnan B in this regard. NMRDA chief has written to the civic chief urging him to continue with the work of issuing provisional NOCs to big projects until August 31. The civic chief, on his part, has approached the office of state fire director to resolve the issue.
Warik said builders are not required to travel to Mumbai in the near future as there is plan to process the application for fire NOC online. Already, the urban development department is preparing software to grant building plan approval and provisional fire NOC simultaneously. “It will be operational within a fortnight,” Warik told.
