Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The massive fire in Satpura Bhawan attracted the attention of everyone. After this incident, everyone is crying hoarse for a proper fire safety system. Notwithstanding this, the Fire Safety and Audit Bill, which is being prepared for a long time, is still hanging in a balance and is yet to see the light of the day. It is still under preparation and is unlikely to be tabled in the monsoon session of the State Assembly.
It was in the year 2022 that a massive fire had broken out in a private hospital of Jabalpur. After this fire incident, Urban Development and Housing Minister Bhupendra Singh announced that the state will have its own Fire Safety and Audit Act. He had directed the Urban Development and Housing Department officials to work on the draft of the fire safety bill. They went to some big cities of other states and studied their fire safety norms and tried to incorporate the best norms for fire safety into the proposed draft. They have done a thorough study of the best fire safety practices of Mumbai, Hyderabad and New Delhi. The fire safety bill was supposed to be presented in the next Assembly session (2022) to be convened post Jabalpur hospital incident. But it could not happen.
“We are not going to table the Fire Safety and Audit Bill in the Assembly’s Monsoon season as it is still under the preparation process. The objections and claims need to be invited and Hindi translation of the draft is to be done. After this, the bill will be sent to the cabinet and when the latter approves then only it could be tabled in the Assembly,” said a senior officer of the Urban Development and Housing Department to the Free Press.
Another bill which is still in the pipeline is related to Modern Tenancy Act. It is being formulated by Urban Development and Housing Department to safeguard the interests of both house owners and tenants. This is being done in view of the huge influx of people in major towns and cities of the State from far-flung areas for jobs who need accommodation on rent.
