‘Govt’s Leniency In Framing Fire Safety Regulations Can’t Be Tolerated’: Bombay HC

The Maharashtra government was criticised by the Bombay High Court (HC) for its alleged negligence in enforcing fire safety laws in structures susceptible to man-made disasters. Additionally, it claimed that individuals are losing their lives in fire accidents that occur in Mumbai every other day.

The 82-year-old woman and her 60-year-old son lost their lives in a fire that broke out at a four-story residential structure in the affluent Girgaon neighborhood of South Mumbai on December 2 night, as reported by the high court.

The bench took note of the fact that the government has not yet moved forward with the expert committee's report, which it provided in February of this year about the implementation of the regulations.

It sought details on the precise timing for implementing the guidelines from the principal secretary of the state's Urban Development Department (UDD), on December 8.

The bench remarked that there seems to be a spike in fire incidences. In this metropolis city, fatal fire incidents occur every other day, and there have been stories of people losing their lives as a result of these breakouts. The bench said, “This is not done. Are we sitting here to prompt you (the government) for every action? Is this our job? What is all this happening here?”

Referring to the Girgaon fire incident, the bench said can there be anything more tragic than this? How these two deaths have occurred…is this what the government wants for the people in this city?

A public interest litigation (PIL) filed by attorney Abha Singh and argued through advocate Aditya Pratap was being heard by a division bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Arif S Doctor. The PIL sought directions for the state government to issue the final notification on the "Special Regulations for Building Vulnerable to Manmade Disasters."

The city saw the 26/11 attacks in November 2008, which prompted the creation of the restrictions in 2009.

The state government had earlier informed the bench that it was working to incorporate safety draft rules into the 2034 Development Control and Promotion Regulations (DCPR) and that a special committee would discuss how to incorporate the draft rules.

A government attorney filed a request in June 2023 stating that the Cabinet would consider the aforementioned report before making a decision.

The expert group that was established last year presented its report in February of this year, and it was brought before the UDD by Additional Government Pleader Jyoti Chavan, who informed the bench that the panel will be reviewing the findings and taking action to revise the DCPR 2034.

But the bench criticised the government for doing little in that area during the previous ten months. The bench questioned what actions is the government taking. It said that any leniency would not be tolerated.

Chavan promised that the next hearing date would provide a comprehensive plan for releasing the draft notification, accepting public comments, and finalizing the notification. On December 8, when it would hear the PIL again, the HC requested a response from the Principal Secretary of UDD.