Only 10% of marriage palaces, banquet halls in Faridabad possess fire NOC

Bijendra Ahlawat

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Faridabad, November 1

A majority of the banquet halls, marriage palaces, community centres and dharamshalas in the city are reportedly functioning without a proper NOC from the fire department, according to sources in the department.

Though the district has around 300 such places, only 10 per cent have acquired the mandatory NOC from the department, according to sources in the local administration. Majority of these have temporary structures built with help of iron pipes, bamboos, plastic material, thermocol and ornamental material, these do not fall in the permanent structure category and thus do not require an NOC from various departments before starting operations, they added.

Around 150 marriage halls or banquets are located within the limits of the Municipal Corporation Faridabad (MCF). Besides, such structures have also come up in areas which fall in the semi-urban or rural areas, according to official sources.

“Similar problem is being faced with regard to guesthouses, motels, restaurants, educational institutions and coaching centres operating in congested areas,’’ said an official of the district administration on the condition of anonymity. He said while majority of these avoid acquiring proper permissions or NOC, it is only up to 10 per cent which fulfil the conditions for registering with the civic body and getting the NOC from departments like fire and pollution.

“The recent incident of a fire at a marriage function in Surajkund area is perhaps an eye opener on the risk posed to the lives of the people,’’ says Ajay Bahl, a social activist. He said the authorities need to do away with the loopholes in the conditions attached for making the fire NOC mandatory for any place of public gathering. Describing such halls as modern day ‘lakshagrih’ (house of lacquer), Varun Sheokand, another local resident, said categorisation and rules for such places need to be revised to ensure public safety. Majority of these had been violating rules for pollution and labour laws, he said.

Majority of them have temporary structures

A majority of the structures of these banquet halls and marriage palaces are temporary and do not fall in the permanent structure category. Owing to this, these do not require an NOC from various departments before starting operations.