Bhubaneswar, July 9: The fire service wing of Odisha Police has asked the Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) to check fire safety measures being followed in multi-storeyed buildings in the city.
In a letter to the BDA on May 8, the director general of fire services sought information regarding 126 high-rise structures for which developers had sought clearance from them. The fire services boss wanted to know whether the BDA had issued no objection certificates (NOC), including fire safety clearance, to these projects.
“Fire safety clearance is vital before issuing the NOC. We had with us applications by the developers, but whether they have completed those structures, implemented fire safety norms or not we are still in dark. So we have asked the BDA to check the present status and prepare a checklist,’’ said a senior fire service official.
According to the official procedure, developers apply to the fire department for clearance before launching their projects. No objection certificates are issued once projects are complete and fire safety officials have done physical verification. However, in most cases, builders have been avoiding physical verification by fire department officials and obtaining the NOC from the BDA by circumventing the rules.
Fire prevention officer Manoranjan Bhol said: “Fire safety adherence for high-rise buildings is very vital. As the BDA has the mechanism to check them before issuing the NOC, they can ensure this before providing the certificates.’’ While the BDA planning wing issued show-cause notice to all the developers associated with these 126 buildings on Saturday, they were asked to give the compliance within a month.
BDA planning member Pitabas Sahoo said: “The non-adherence to fire safety norms invites high penalty. We have asked the developers to comply or pay a fine of Rs 100 per sqm per month. If they fail to provide the compliance within one month, then have to pay the fine as well.’’
However, a BDA official said that majority of the more than 500 apartment blocks across the city have violated fire safety norms while getting the NOC. In most cases, these structures violate the safety standards laid down under the National Building Code.
Resident of a high-rise building Dillip Patnaik said: “The adherence to fire safety norms should be a compulsory exercise and the developers violating them should be penalised.’’