Nagpur: According to a report in local English daily, the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court, in a major verdict which could have far-reaching implications, recently upheld the NMC Fire Department’s decision to declare unsafe 3 hospitals in a multi-storey commercial building — Yashodham — on West High Court Road for not complying with fire safety norms.
The report stated that the Chief Justice Dipankar Datta ruled that three hospitals in the ground+3 storey building should not admit any new patient and discharge all patients already admitted within seven days. The hospitals should not be allowed to operate until they comply with firefighting arrangements, the court ruled.
Today's Rate
Sat 21 Dec. 2024
NMC was represented by Jemini Kasat, while the petitioners were represented by Shantanu Ghate.
On March 25, 2021, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation’s Fire and Emergency Services Department had issued a notice to Chaitanya Maternity and Nursing Home owned by Dr Mangala Ghisad, on WHC Road in Dharampeth, for inspection of the premises. The hospital, situated on the first floor of Yashodham building, was inspected by fire officials.
During the inspection, the team found many discrepancies in terms of firefighting arrangements on all the floors. Ground floor is being used by a bank, while the first to third floors are being used by doctors — Dr Mangala Ghisad (first floor) and other two floors are occupied by Dr Dhananjay Kane (Kane Surgical Hospital) and Dr Sunil Nerdi’s Venkateswara Hospital.
According to the report, during inspection, the NMC team could find fire extinguishers only on ground and first floors, while no other firefighting arrangements were present on other floors. Subsequently, the department had advised the occupants of a slew of measures like installing fire alarm, smoke detection system, wet risers, sprinkler system, construction of a 10,000 litre capacity water tank on the terrace and an underground tank with a capacity of 75,000 litres in 30 days. However, the occupants did nothing during the 30-day period. On June 11, 2021, the department declared the building unsafe and asked its occupants to vacate the premises.
Later, two occupants — Dr Ghisad and Dr Kane — moved the High Court challenging the fire department’s order to MSEDCL and OCWL to cut power and water connections to the building. Dr Ghisad and Dr Kane in their separate petitions informed the HC that the building where they have been running hospitals was sanctioned in 1982 and constructed in 1994-95, when the Maharashtra Fire Prevention and Life Safety Measures Act 2006 (MFPLSMA) was not even envisaged.
Defending the Fire Department’s action, NMC lawyer Kasat informed the HC that MFPLSMA is a statutory provision and all should abide by it as the Act has been introduced for the safety of citizens from rising fire mishaps. After hearing both the sides, the HC rejected the petitioners’ contention and ordered the hospitals operating from the building to discharge all the admitted patients within seven days and not to admit new patients till the premises if fully fire safety compliant.
