104 of 142 Panaji buildings have no fire NOCs

PANAJI: Over 73% of high rise buildings in the state capital haven’t renewed their fire NOCs, putting the lives of thousands of people at risk.
The directorate of fire and emergency services has found that 104 high-rise buildings out of 142 have not renewed their fire NOCs, required to be done each year. These include both private and government buildings.
In addition to this, 17 out of 20 government offices reviewed have also not renewed the fire NOC.
The directorate will now be issuing notices to defaulters and will physically conduct audits of their premises. The reports will be submitted to the government.
The fire safety audit is being carried out as part of disaster management after orders from the North Goa collectorate to assess buildings from the fire safety point of view.
“The exercise has started and the report will be submitted to the government after one or two months as there are many buildings that have to be physically surveyed,” an official said.
It is after the Kamala Mills fire in Mumbai last December, where over a dozen persons lost their lives, that the North Goa collectorate in January this year has been taking proactive steps to ensure that buildings are fire safety compliant.
Deciding that stricter fire safety compliance was necessary, the government had also passed an order making fire NOC compulsory for commercial establishments for the renewal of trade and occupational licences.