Hardtalk: Fire safety in highrises mandatory

Even as the civic administration struggles to recover from the aftermath of heavy rainfall in the city, the Gujarat high court has directed the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and the Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority to sever essential supplies like water supply and drainage to the highrise buildings, which do not observe requisite fire safety features.

The court has granted the errant buildings a time of four weeks to install fire safety mechanisms as per the rules or do away with water, drainage and electricity. The division bench of Justice B.C. Patel and Justice P.B. Majmudar issued the interim directions to AMC and Auda while appraising two petitions relating to building constructions filed by the Lok Adhikar Sangh and Nikhil Modi respectively.

Nikhil Modi had challenged the proposed "impact fees" by the AMC that regularises errant constructions by payment of fixed fees.

The another petition filed by the Lok Adhikar Sangh, after the fire in Shree Krishna complex at Mithakali in June 1999, seeking the court’s directions to the concerned authorities over the buildings that lack fire safety mechanisms.

The high court made the interim directions on Tuesday and fixed the next hearing on July 27.

The double bench also directed the AMC to ask the Ahmedabad Electricity Company to cut electricity connection to the highrise buildings that do not incorporate fire safety mechanisms as per the regulations.

The court directed the municipal commissioner to inform the general public and occupants of highrise buildings to provide for the fire safety measures within a period of four weeks by means of public notices. The court said that AMC had issued public notices earlier asking the builders, developers, structural engineers, architects, owners, residents’ committees to take fire safety measures as per the regulations.

However, it was brought to the notice of the court that despite public notices safety provisions are not provided in many highrise buildings.

The petitioner submitted that in many cases the occupants of the buildings have sought the possession without taking the "building use permission." They alleged that such occupants, however, enjoyed essential services like water supply, drainage access and electricity supply.

The court further directed that AMC will not supply essential services to any building unless the building is erected in accordance with law and building use permission is granted by the competent authority. The court also said that before connecting power supply to any new building AEC must ensure that the fire safety norms are complied.

The court said that the municipal commissioner will be held responsible if and will be answerable to the court if the essential supplies continue to the buildings that do not comply to the court order.

The court has directed the municipal commissioners of Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Rajkot, Jamanagar and Bhavnagar and the respective urban development authorities to be strict with the compliance of building norms.

Republished from Asian Age