Nagpur: Refusing to interfere in the plea filed by the owners of a commercial building, who challenged Nagpur Municipal Corporation’s (NMC) order of disconnecting their water supply as they failed to comply with the fire safety measures, the Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court warned them of hazards in not fulfilling the mandatory requirements and also directed them to complete the formalities at the earliest.
A division bench comprising Justice Atul Chandurkar and Justice Urmila Phalke Joshi said that it would be open for the petitioners to comply with the necessary measures that have been suggested by the competent authority. After those are provided, the petitioners may seek inspection of the property in accordance with law. Hence, while disposing of the writ petition, we may observe that occupation of the petitioners in the said building is their own risk and consequences, the bench said.
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Friday 27 Dec. 2024
The owners of Everest Arcade in Sakkardara on Umred Road, mostly comprising doctors having their chambers, moved the High Court against an order passed by the NMC’s Chief Fire Officer (Fire and Emergency Services) under Section 8(2) of the ‘Maharashtra Fire Prevention and Life Safety Measures Act, 2006’. It was passed on the ground that the directives under Section 8(1) of the Act have not been complied with by the owners.
The MSEDCL also issued a similar notice to the building owners of discontinuing their power supply for the same reason. Last April, four persons burned to death when a fire engulfed Well Treat Hospital in Wadi as the building lacked fire safety measures.
In its reply filed through counsel Gemini Kasat, the NMC said that despite requiring the petitioners to take various measures as required under the Act of 2006, there was non-compliance and hence, action under Section 8(2) has been taken. Kasat pointed out that an underground water tank and installation of a water pump would have to be provided as measures that were suggested to the petitioners as per the Act.
Petitioners’ counsel ND Thombre informed that necessary facilities such as an underground water tank and installation of water pumps would be in place within three months.
Earlier, the NMC had issued notices to all the petitioners on March 9 to comply with fire safety norms or else their water and electricity supply would be disconnected.
The petitioners, including Dr Rajkumar Kiratkar, Dr Vinod Sonkul, Dr Sunilkumar Shende, Dr Nishant Gupta, along with businessmen — Anil Nandurkar and Satish Satija — had prayed for quashing the NMC’s order and also for granting extension for construction of a water tank and pump installation till November.
