DDA office fails to get fire safety nod , had no fire NOC for 5 yrs: Officials

The fire department last week refused to issue a fire safety certificate to the Delhi Development Authority’s (DDA) headquarters, Vikas Sadan, in INA Colony in south Delhi, mentioning at least 11 shortcomings that are possible fire hazards in the building. Vikas Sadan has not had a fire no-objection certificate for the last five years, a fire department official said.
Officials said that DDA has not been able to rectify the shortcomings despite multiple inspections over the last five years. The last inspection was conducted on September 13, following which a letter denying the fire safety certificate was issued on September 25.
DDA said it has proactively upgraded its firefighting system, and the Delhi Fire Services has pointed out improvements which are being addressed.
The letter mentions 11 points such as open wires in the basement, gaps in fire check doors, non-functional lift pressurisation and non-functional automatic fire detection and alarm system among other things. The department has been asked to rectify the system and apply again.
A fire department official said on condition of anonymity that the building has not had a fire no-objection certificate for at least the last five years. “At lease two audits were conducted and they were informed of the shortcomings. They did not have an NOC for at least five years,” the official said.
The letter mentions that the premises of Vikas Sadan were inspected by officers in August 2022 when a list of seven shortcomings were highlighted and again on September 13 to check the status after repairs. However, the issues were still not resolved while four additional concerns were found that have been added to the list of shortcomings.
“In view of the shortcomings, issuance of fire safety certificate cannot be considered at this stage. You are requested to rectify the shortcomings mentioned above under intimation to this department for further action in the matter,” said the letter issued by the fire department on September 25.
Fire officials found that the electrical shaft was not sealed at some levels, some elevators in B block were non-functional or under repair, one set of staircases and a corridor in the basement were blocked, and the ventilation system was not working in the basement at some strategic locations.
“Fire check doors have big leaks/gap after closing the doors, which defeats the purposes of its installation. Compartmentation or segregation of staircases was found that can restrict the smoke egress into stairwell. These need to be replaced or repaired in the interest of public safety. Also, the automatic sprinkler system needs to be extended in the left out area on the seventh floor,” said a fire department official.
The inspection team also found that elevator signs were removed at some places and the public announcement system was inaudible or faint.
Residents said that DDA is failing its own staff as well as the people with such careless attitude towards fire safety that has led to several mishaps in the city.
“DDA which has the responsibility of looking after the planned development of Delhi has been repeatedly failing in its own fire safety at office. Lives of staff and public are constantly exposed to danger. Even when a designated post of consultant fire officer was created, the failure of the official to address the fire safety issues exposes the illegalities in DDA,” said Paras Tyagi, president of the centre for youth culture law and environment, an NGO.