Fire safety goes for toss as CITCO says cheers sans NOC

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 22

Throwing caution to the wind, the flagship hotels of the Chandigarh Industrial and Tourism Development Corporation (CITCO) have been running bars on their premises without failing to procure the mandatory fire safety no objection certificate (NOC) from the Fire Department of the Municipal Corporation.

Under the norms, a bar licence can only be issued by the UT Excise and Taxation Department to a restaurant or hotel if it furnishes the fire safety NOC. However, the three CITCO hotels — Hotel Mountview in Sector 10, Hotel Shivalikview in Sector 17, Hotel Parkview in Sector 24 — and restaurant Chef Lakeview at Sukhna Lake managed to get the bar licence last year after submitting an undertaking to the Excise and Taxation Department of having applied for the NOC.

Application under process, says official

• Norms say bar licence can be issued by the UT Excise and Taxation Department to hotel/restaurant only if it furnishes fire safety NOC
• But CITCO’s Hotel Mountview, Hotel Shivalikview, Hotel Parkview got licence last year on undertaking to Excise Dept of having applied for NOC
• A CITCO official said they had applied for NOC and it was under process; Fire Dept wanted some equipment installed and bids had been invited

Checklist to get fire certification

• Fire extinguishers on all floors
• Automated sprinkler system in entire building
• Escape routes must be clear of any obstruction
• BIS-compliant electrical wirings and installations
• Adequate provision for natural ventilation, lighting
• Treatment of furniture with flame-resistant material
• No dumping of waste or volatile/flammable liquids

A CITCO official said they had already applied for the NOC and that it was under process. The Fire Department had asked them to install some fire equipment to get the NOC and they had invited bids for procurement.

Meanwhile, the MC has decided to carry out a fire safety audit of all private and government buildings from next month and action would be initiated against violators on the basis of the report.

An official said of nearly 20,000 commercial establishments in the city, merely 5 per cent had obtained the fire safety certificate/no objection certificate from the Fire Department.

The official said notices had been issued to the commercial building owners many a time, but to no avail. In case of a fire, safety of people would be at risk, he said, adding some government departments and other establishments had applied for the certificate, but had been asked to do away with certain discrepancies and procure necessary equipment. As a result, these were not issued the certificate, added the official.

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