With a view to make services of the fire and emergency department more focused in tackling emergency situations and public safety, Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) plans to outsource the job of issuing fire safety NoCs to private agencies. Official sources said the fire and emergency service department of Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) is facing severe shortage of staff. There are so many applications from commercial, residential and industrial users daily that the department finds itself behind the schedule in issuing no-objection certificates (NoCs) for fire safety.
It is mandatory for highrise buildings, commercial establishments and industrial units to obtain fire NoCs from the fire department as a part of National Building Code (NBC). “The fire department has to perform dual jobs; one is to give fire safety NoCs and second is taking emergency measures when fire and other natural and man-made disasters occur. Like the issuance of pollution under control (PUC) certificate has been outsourced to private agencies, we plan to outsource the job of issuing fire safety NoC to competent agencies,” said municipal commissioner Milind Torawane.
Torawane added, “The outsourcing of issuing fire NoC job would help the fire department officials to devote more time in taking emergency measures in the city. Qualified agencies will issue the NoCs under the supervision of fire department officials.” He also indicated harsh measures such as revising the detailed project report (DPR) to avoid anomalies in the construction of textile markets. (Source: Security Today)
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