The Chandigarh municipal corporation (MC) has issued a public notice making it mandatory for building owners and people to obtain fire safety certificates (FSC) within eight months of applying online, failing which their deposited fee will be forfeited. Along with the forfeiture, violators will also face action under fire safety norms.
As per the notice, applicants are given eight months to complete all formalities, including installation of mandatory fire safety equipment, after applying for the certificate. Those who complete the process must inform their respective fire safety officer, as failure to do so will also be treated as a violation. The directive was announced by the MC’s joint commissioner-cum-assistant chief fire officer.
For the first time, the civic body has set a time frame for acquiring FSCs. Until now, there was no fixed deadline, which allowed many applicants to pay the online fee and file applications but delay installation of fire safety equipment in their premises. As a result, station fire officers did not issue certificates, leaving several cases pending.
Now, under the revised rules, all mandatory installations must be completed within eight months, failing which not only will the FSC charges be seized, but surprise inspections will also be carried out in such buildings.
According to official data, more than 1,100 cases have been pending since January 2019. Between then and March 25, this year, at least 1,151 fire safety certificates are yet to be issued. These applications remain incomplete as the concerned building owners or tenants have not fulfilled the requirements, such as installing firefighting equipment. The chief fire officer had earlier pointed out that the backlog is mainly due to applicants ignoring critical compliance measures.
Currently, in Chandigarh, obtaining a FSC is mandatory for all buildings above 15 metres in height. As per the National Building Code (NBC), which governs fire safety rules across the country, FSC is also compulsory for residential buildings housing more than 20 people.
In addition, low-occupancy but high-risk categories such as assembly halls, institutional buildings, educational institutions with more than two floors or over 1,000 square metres of built-up area, hotels, hospitals, nursing homes, underground complexes, storage facilities, banquet halls, and hazardous occupancy buildings are also required to have valid FSCs.
