Is fire safety clearance taken for DDA housing scheme flats?
14 Jan, 2014A series of applications were filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act seeking to get the details of the fire safety measures employed in the flats for the 2010 housing scheme of Delhi Development Authority (DDA).
The replies to the applications have revealed that several flats allotted by the authority under the scheme do not conform to fire safety regulations. The replies show that though these 90 lakh-flats in Mukherji Nagar of North Delhi didn’t get the necessary fire safety clearance, the DDA took full payment from the allottees and gave them the possession letters. The DDA handed out possession in May, 2012 without installing fire- fighting equipments and installing lifts.
The replies show that the fire service department mentioned many shortcomings in the flats for not issuing the fire safety certificate. These include lower than prescribed width of internal roads and lack of turning radius. Also, the width of the staircase does not conform to Delhi Fire Services (DFS) norms and is less than the required width (1,350 mm by 1,250 mm). In an RTI reply, the DDA's electrical division has also confirmed that it has not received fire safety clearance certificate from the Delhi Fire Services.