The Telangana government has directed authorities not to give permission or clearances for starting cinema halls or educational institutes in complexes of more than 15 metres (three floors) without the mandatory ‘no objection certificate’ issued by the Telangana State Disaster Response and Fire Services Department (TSDR & FS). In a memo issued a few days ago, Home Secretary Anita Rajendra said that it had come to the notice of the government that the municipal corporations of Hyderabad and Warangal, District Collectors, Police Commissioners, District Educational Officers, etc., have been issuing licenses or permissions for cinema halls, function halls, hotels, and schools, among others, without the fire safety certificate.
This has not only put the lives of people in these buildings at risk but has also led to non-payment of the statutory fire precaution fee, which is non-refundable. It was pointed out that the fee arrears were over ₹33 lakh.
Hence, the authorities responsible for giving permission or trade licenses for running a school or college, hotel, or any other place where the public congregates, and which is housed in buildings measuring 15 metres — or 18 metres (five floors) in the case of residential apartments — should ensure the provisional ‘NOC’ from the Fire Department is taken first. The rule was also applicable for places which were to come up on a 500 square yard plot or which measure six metres (two floors) in height, as these are covered under Section 13 of the Telangana Fire Services Act, 1999. Applications for the NOC have to be routed through the Director General of the TSDR F&S.
