Delhi government plans changes to norms for guesthouses

NEW DELHI: Continuing its drive against guesthouses violating norms, the Delhi government has suspended fire-safety certificates (FSC) of 14 more such properties. Home minister Satyendar Jain said no-objection certificates issued to 71 guesthouses have so far been cancelled.
“Fire-safety certificates of 14 more hotels/guesthouses have been suspended after violations were found during inspections. A total of 71 NOCs have been suspended so far.We will not compromise with fire safety. Human lives are precious and their safety has to be given top priority,” Jain said.
According to senior officials, six teams of fire services departments inspected 18 guesthouses in Karol Bagh on Saturday and found 14 of them violating norms. While one guesthouse was found shut, three were found complying with the norms. The fire-safety check of guesthouses was directed by Jain on February 14 after 17 people lost their lives in a fire in Hotel Arpit Palace in the area. Officials said major violations of fire-safety norms were found in guesthouses. Suspension of fire-safety certificate means the guesthouses will not be allowed to operate.
The officials said this was the first time such a massive inspection exercise had been initiated by the fire department. Sources agree that once FSC is given, the department will never go and check if the norms were still being followed.
Officials added that home minister had also decided to change the norms of running guesthouses in the capital. According to officials, some of the bylaws that are followed by the guesthouses are several years old and need to be reworked. “The new norms will be laid down keeping in mind requirements of the current times,” an official said.
The hotel association, however, says the guesthouse owners are being harassed by authorities in the name of the inspection and threatened to go on strike if their grievances are not heard. “There are different sets of norms for guesthouses built before 1990, the ones that came up between 1990 and 2011 and those constructed after 2011. But the inspection teams are measuring all guesthouses with the same yardstick,” said Arun Gupta, president, Delhi Hotel Mahasangh, an umbrella body of about 1,700 hotels and guesthouses in the capital.
Gupta said action was being taken for excessive woodwork in hotels, for wooden flooring and missing fire alarm. “There is no definition or laid-down rule on how much wood can be used in a guesthouse. Similarly, the fire alarm is required in guesthouses with more than 25 rooms. But the government is still taking action against smaller guesthouses,” Gupta said. “We are meeting home minister Satyendar Jain on Monday. If no solution is found, we will go on a strike,” he said.