Putting residents at risk, only 200 lifts registered in Gurugram

Gurugram, September 7

In what raises serious concerns over resident security, Gurugram has just 200 elevators registered out of thousands in the city.

The majority of lifts installed in multi-level apartments and commercial establishments have been installed without proper permissions and have not undergone mandatory annual inspections for years.

This startling fact came to the fore in a recent inspection of the Electrical Inspector’s Department of Registration.

The department found that majority of lifts were functioning without mandatory NOCs from the department and not abiding to safety norms.

Ironically, the majority of defaulters include stilt-plus-four apartments which despite installing these lifts illegally got possession certificates.

Various hospitals, malls, commercial establishments too have been found erring in areas like Sectors 46 to 57, Sushant Lok Phase-2 and 3, DLF Phase-1 to 3, Palam Vihar and others within MCG limits.

Taking a stern stance, the district administration has ordered show-cause notices to defaulters in addition to penalisation. DC Gurugram, Nishant Yadav, has invited residents to flag faulty and ill-maintained lifts.

“Elevator safety is key to residents’ safety and we will not tolerate any compromise on it. The survey is identifying defaulters and they are being issued notices. If lapses are incorrigible, we will go ahead with penalisation. Be it builders, property managers or owners, it is their responsibility to ensure proper functional lifts,” said Yadav.

The administration has moved the departments concerned like Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP), District Town Planner’s Department and Municipal Corporation Gurugram (MCG) to present action based on reports from relevant authorities to verify the lifts installed. Lift installation is allowed during building plan approval and possession certificates are issued after building inspections.

The administration has also shot off a letter to various societies, restaurants and hospitals asking them to train their security staff in SOPs in case of stuck or faulty lifts.

Many videos from the city have repeatedly gone viral showing guards struggling when people get stuck in elevators.

“Not only equipment but also staff concerned has to be well-equipped in case of any emergency. We received many complaints stating that people were stuck because the staff had no idea what to do. It is the duty of authorities concerned to train them and ensure that at any given point, there is an employee on the premises who can handle emergencies,” added Yadav.