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.
“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.
