Residential buildings taller than 15 metres or comprising five or more storeys will be required to obtain a Fire Safety Certificate (FSC) from the fire department.

This also applies to underground structures comprising two or more levels.

These rules are part of a fresh public notice issued by the Delhi Fire Services (DFS) to regulate fire norms across the city after the Malviya Nagar fire tragedy that left 23, including several foreign nationals, dead.

Under this, owners and occupiers of several categories of buildings will now need to obtain a mandatory FSC.

Home Minister Ashish Sood had earlier told The Indian Express that, “90 per cent of buildings in the city do not have a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from the fire department… To address the situation, the government is working on strictly enforcing rules and fire norms to avoid untoward incidents.”

An official from DFS said, “These rules existed earlier but the language was not clear for the public to understand. We have now simplified it and are pushing people to get FSCs for safety and avoid fire incidents…”

According to the notice issued by the Principal Director, DFS:

According to the notice, FSCs issued to residential buildings, excluding hotels, will remain valid for five years. For non-residential buildings, including hotels, the certificate will remain valid for three years from the date of issuance.

The department has also asked owners of buildings that do not currently possess a certificate to submit applications along with sanctioned building plans through the building sanctioning authority concerned. Those whose certificates have expired have been advised to apply online for renewal.