In the wake of fire incident that led to deaths of 14 people with several injured in Kamala Mills compound in Mumbai recently, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) on Sunday issued showcause notices to nine restaurants in Central Delhi’s Connaught Place.
The notices were issued as these restaurants were found to be violating fire safety norms and none of them have No Objection Certificates (NOCs) from the Delhi Fire Services
According NDMC officials, around 400 shops in Connaught Place do not have NOC from the Delhi Fire Service.
“We had conducted inspection of all restaurants in Connaught Place and identified nine of them which have been violating fire safety norms. Showcause notices have been issued to them and they may lose their licence if norms are not complied with,” a senior NDMC official said.
The official, however, did not reveal the names of the restaurants, saying, “We are not making their names public at this stage, till we receive their replies.”
The civic body had last week warned traders associations in its area to ensure that restaurants operating in its area abide by trade licence conditions, fire safety norms and comply with sitting capacity conditions or face cancellation of their permits and sealing of their premises.
“All trade associations were requested to kindly impress upon their members/restaurants operating in respective areas to strictly abide by trade license conditions. There should not be any laxity on the fire safety measures and sitting capacity sanctioned in each restaurant is strictly complied with,” the official said.
The two major markets in NDMC area which are flooded with restaurants are Khan Market and Connaught Place. According to norms, eateries with a seating capacity of less than 50 do not need an NOC from police and fire departments.