Within a week, South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) will issue fresh guidelines making it mandatory for guesthouses above 12 metres height and restaurants above 90 square metres area to submit fire no objection certificate (NOC) while applying for the health trade licence with the civic body. Buildings less than 12 m tall, however, may be considered for the health licence even without the fire NOC.
In 2010, the fire department had issued norms saying that it will now issue fire NOC only to the guesthouses above 12 metres of height and restaurants above 90 square metres. “But these norms were leading to confusion among the civic agencies. Now, we have decided to consider issuing licences to buildings less than 12 m tall even if they don’t have the fire NOCs,” said a senior SDMC official.
Chief fire officer Atul Garg said, “As per Delhi Fire Service (DFS) Act and rules, 2010, guesthouses having height less than 12 metres do not require NOCs from DFS. Unfortunetly, despite the norms in place since 2011, it took the municipality eight years to make amendments in their guidelines. The purpose of giving relaxation to guesthouses less than 12 metre height and restaurants less than 90 sq m area was to save them from unnecessary hassles. Also, their number is too less to consider.”
To ensure that the guesthouses and restaurants do not violate building bylaws in the garb of the relaxation, MCD staff are planning to keep a vigil and also conduct random surveys. The health department officials, however, claim that relaxation in fire NOC norms for guesthouses less than 12 m height will increase safety issues. “Since people sleep in lodging houses, buildings of lower height should also be treated as vulnerable places,” said an official.
While municipal officials said that maximum guesthouses were operating from buildings less than 12m high, Garg claimed that guesthouses in Sadar Paharganj were mostly above 12 m in height.
