Fire safety not a priority for most condominium societies in Gurugram
Gurugram: It has been more than a month since a fire in a condominium society in Gurugram resulted in the death of a mother and a daughter. Yet, it seems that the managements in the residential societies in order to reduce their costs are not paying any heed to the impending tragedies.
Most of the residents are now using the Chief Minister window and social media platforms to highlight their fears. The latest problem has come from Nirvana society in Sector-50 where the fire safety mechanism was not found up to date. After complaining in the Chief Minister window, a team of fire department visited the spot and found the lapses. A deadline of ten days has been given to fix the problems.
According to official data, over 200 highrises which are buildings of a height of 15 meters do not have NOC from fire safety officials. It is estimated that a population of around 7,000 people lives in these buildings. Most of the builders have to renew the fire safety license after every one year. The fire department officials mention that most of them have not renewed their license for more than two years.
Most of the cash-strapped builders have outsourced their work to maintenance agencies to reduce their costs. It has, however, not improved the situation as there are complaints that the builders refuse to pay the maintenance agencies which is now compromising on the quality. The problems of poor maintenance are mostly felt in the hundreds of societies that have come up in Sohna Road and New Gurugram that comprise the Sectors of 81-95.
Most of the residents have addressed the concerns to the Chief Minister using various platforms. Having unable to find an effective solution most of the resident bodies have also written to the Prime Minister Office for intervention. There are over 20 societies that have formally registered their complaints against the builder with the Department of Town and Country Planning (DTCP).
Meanwhile, certain resident bodies have taken the task of maintenance from the builders. The resident bodies, however, claim that there is no support from the strong builder lobby as they do not forego the heavy maintenance fee that is being obtained from the residents.
