10 out of 37 govt hospitals do not have fire NOCs, says CAG report

A CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General) report has revealed that 10 of the 37 government hospitals in Delhi do not possess ‘no objection certificates’ (NOC) issued by the department of fire services. 

In its report, the CAG noted that non-functioning of fire fighting systems and improper use of basements was also noticed in these hospitals.  ‘An audit of the fire safety arrangements in Delhi hospitals for the period 2010-13, was conducted to ascertain whether these hospitals have taken adequate measures to prevent and fight any fire mishap. Out of 37 government hospitals, 10 hospitals had not been issued NOCs by the Delhi Fire Service department (DFS)’, said the CAG report.

The report further mentioned that the staffs at these hospitals were not trained enough to deal with fire accident. ‘In these hospitals, no training was provided to their staffs for fire safety. There were no mock drills performed at these hospitals, supposed to be conducted with the help of DFS’, the report added. 

According to the report, Health and Family Welfare department had issued instructions to all government hospitals to take steps to ensure fire safety in their hospitals. The DFS had carried out inspection of all 37 government hospitals in December, 2011. During inspection, only 21 hospitals got an NOC as they had followed necessary safety norms. While six hospitals were exempted from the requirement of NOC under the provisions of the DFS Act, 10 hospitals were not issued NOCs as they failed to comply with the fire safety norms. The report also highlighted that the government sat over Rs 20.66 crores which was sanctioned for constructing an OPD block at Lok Nayak Jaiprakash Narayan hospital.