A large number of Mumbai hotels, bars and restaurants are operating without obtaining No Objection Certifications (NOCs) from the fire department.Of 925 such premises in the Thane area around 800 were trading without the mandatory certificate.
These hotels, restaurants and bars have been operating from an area that either does not have an occupancy certificate (OC) or commencement certificate (CC). However, the authorities claimed that they have issued NOCs to only 125 hotels.
The municipal authority for the relevant area must issue an OC document to buildings that comply with the terms for occupancy. Building owners allowing occupancy without a relevant OC are acting illegally.
Mumbai has already been tagged as the city with most fire incidents. As per recent data released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Mumbai witnessed 285 short-circuit-caused fires from 2009 to 2013.
While the city’s civic officials are yet to decide how to tackle the issue, Thane police have acted promptly in cancelling the licences of various hotels due to non-compliance with fire-safety regulations.
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