Tajshree Honda lacks fire NOC, equipments too

Times of India: Nagpur: Monday, July 03, 2017.

Another major violation has come to fore in the Tajshree Honda showroom in Deo Nagar. The ground+2 floors building does not have a no-objective-certificate (NOC) from the fire and emergency services department of the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC). The building also lacks fire and emergency equipments.

Right To Information (RTI) activist TH Naidu, who exposed various violations of building norms' in the showroom, had lodged a complaint with the NMC's fire and emergency services department on May 20. A team from the fire department conducted an inspection of the building on May 28.

As per the documents obtained by Naidu under the RTI Act, the fire department sent a letter, dated May 28, to the building owners AP Associates, Avinash and Prashant Bhute directing to submit fire NOC and other relevant documents within three days. NMC's chief fire officer Rajendra Uchake issued a notice to the building's owners on June 6 directing them to seek permission and also install fire and emergency equipments within 90 days.

"Primary fire preventive equipments are not there as per requirement," Uchake said. Avinash Bhute told TOI that he will look into the issue and ensure all permissions are taken for the building.

Naidu said that the civic chief should take action against the officials of town planning department. "It is mandatory for the town planning department to ask for fire NOC before giving sanction to a building plan of commercial complex with area of 150 sq m and above or height of 15m or above. Sanction was given to Tajshree Honda showroom building on November 30, 2007 without asking for fire NOC," he said.

Naidu said that the NMC Laxmi Nagar zone office had protected the unauthorized construction for long time. "Zone office issued notice to the building under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning (MRTP) Act on April 9, 2010. Zone office was supposed to take action after 30 days from issuing the notice. No action was taken in the case," he said. Naidu added the state's urban development department (UDD) is also favouring the unauthorized construction.