If these units fail to comply, the fire brigade will either prosecute them or charge Rs50,000 as fine.
The city fire brigade has issued prosecution notices to 205 units including commercial and residential structures and hospitals for non-compliance of fire safety and prevention norms. If these units fail to comply, the fire brigade will either prosecute them or charge Rs50,000 as fine.
The brigade has been regularly carrying out extensive survey of housing societies, hospitals, commercials establishments and industrial units across the city. Under the Maharashtra Fire Prevention and Life Safety Measures Act, 2006, the fire brigade has, for the first time, been empowered to take stringent action against errant establishments for not complying and maintaining the fire-fighting equipment in proper condition.
A survey has revealed that most of the housing societies, which were flouting the fire safety norms, are located at Napeansea Road, Cuffe Parade and Central Mumbai. Some of the societies are Cuff Castle building (Cuff Parade), Shreepati Tower (Nana Chowk), Nav Shanti Nagar housing society (Napeansea Road), Matru Ashish Building (Napeansea Road), Jolly Maker Chamber No 2 (Nariman Point) and Kashmira society (Bhosale Marg). Even Harkisandas hospital and Panchratna, known for the diamond hub at Opera House, Aayakar Bhavan (Marine Line), Shipping house (Nariman Point) and Crawford Market have not complied with the norms.
“We have issued them notices after having given a deadline of 120 days. Most of them have crossed the deadline. We have forwarded the notices to BMC’s legal department to initiate the prosecution process. We have got a separate legal team who will start taking action. We will hand out three months’ imprisonment or ask them to pay a fine of Rs50,000,” said Uday Tatkare, chief fire officer.
The main fire lapses — sprinkles, smoke detectors, hydrants, fire lift — are not in working condition in industrial and housing societies. “At most of the places, entrances were blocked with discarded stuff and refuse. We were happy to see that all fire appliances were in place, but were disappointed when these instruments were found non-functional. People should not take the risk of staying and working in unsafe houses and industrial units,” said a senior fire officer who conducted the survey.
“Reason not maintaining the fire equipment is mainly the dispute between the owner and tenants, and clashes among the residents for not paying maintenance on time. People should take this issue seriously. Otherwise, they should be ready to face stringent action,” a fire officer said.
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