HC asks Maharashtra govt to set up panel for implementation of fire safety rules by August 19

A division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice M S Karnik said the four-member committee, comprising experts from the field, will be given two months to submit its report to the state government

The Bombay High Court on Friday directed the Maharashtra government to set up a committee by August 19 to prepare a report on the implementation of the 2009 draft fire safety rules and regulations for buildings and structures vulnerable to disasters.

A division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice M S Karnik said the four-member committee, comprising experts from the field, will be given two months to submit its report to the state government.

The high court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by advocate Abha Singh, seeking enforcement of the draft special regulations for fire safety in buildings vulnerable to man-made disasters.

The regulations were issued in 2009 in the aftermath of the 26/11 terror attack in Mumbai.

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The state government's counsel Hiten Venegaonkar had earlier this week informed the court that the government was in the process of including the safety draft rules framed in 2009 in the new Development Control and Planning Regulations (DCPR).

Venegaonkar told the court that a special committee needs to be constituted before the draft rules can be included in the DCPR and that the state will require three to four months for constituting the expert committee.

The court on Friday directed that the committee must be constituted by August 19.

"The draft rules are of the year 2009. We are now in the year 2022. The committee shall see if we need to improve the rules and our system," the court said, while posting the matter for further hearing on August 22. 

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