80% of Delhi is unplanned, fire preparedness ‘average’: Chief Fire Officer
Delhi's Chief Fire Officer reports that 80% of the city is unplanned and fire preparedness is only average due to widespread building code violations. The lack of occupancy certificates and the prevalence of unauthorized colonies make effective fire safety enforcement extremely difficult.
Why it matters
It highlights critical urban infrastructure and safety risks in one of the world's most densely populated capital cities.
How would you assess Delhi’s overall fire-safety preparedness? What are the biggest risks?
Delhi has varied fire risks because of its geography and construction. Old Delhi, for instance, has narrow, congested lanes, interconnected buildings and tangled overhead wires, making access difficult.
Delhi’s building by-laws were introduced in 1957 and revised in 1983 and 2016, but much of the city has not developed in accordance with them. The city has more than 1,000 unauthorised colonies and around 80% of it is unplanned.
Fire prevention and preparedness have not kept pace with this development. The by-laws and Fire Services infrastructure have not expanded sufficiently, leaving a wide gap in prevention, applicability and enforcement. Our preparedness is therefore only average and not up to the mark for the Capital.
Despite regulations and inspections, violations continue. Where is the biggest gap?
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in