Mumbai: All buildings 4 storeys and higher must have electrical audit soon

A fire at Sachinam Heights in Grant Road claimed six lives in January. File pic

Now, all buildings with four storeys or more will be inspected for electrical audit every three years. The inspection will be carried out by the chief electrical inspector's office under Industries, Energy and Labour Department and priority will be given to SRA and MHADA buildings, which are prone to fire.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has asked the CEI to conduct periodic audits of buildings that are 15 metres or more high under section 36 of Central Electrical Regulations, 2010, amid the reluctance of residents of most high-rises to carry out the audits.

"We have already drafted the rules and the notification will be issued by the state government after approval within a fortnight. Our department will conduct audits of buildings in the city with 15 metres or more height every three years," said CEI Dinesh Khonde. The electrical audits are supposed to be implemented by the chief electrical inspector of the state by appointing chartered electrical safety engineers, but the task has been given to the CEI as only five candidates, two each from Mumbai and Pune and one from Nagpur, cleared the exam in December 2021.

"The response is low, it will take some time to gather the momentum. But for now our team will do the electric audits of the buildings. We will start with SRA or MHADA buildings as they are prone to fire due to negligence in maintenance of the electric system," added Khonde.

He said, "We are also going to write to the Urban Development Department to make an amendment in DCR (Development Control Regulation) to make it compulsory to do electric audits and submit it to the local authority. People should not think of it as unwanted." He further said that they have also requested the department to change the rule so that the audits come under the purview of the BMC.

Of the 48,434 fire incidents from 2008 to 2018, 32,516 were because of short-circuits. It is the primary cause of the fire at Sachinam Heights which claimed six lives in January as well as the ones at One Avighna Park at Currey Road and Hansa Heritage at Kandivli in October and November last year, respectively.

Hemant Parab, chief fire officer, Mumbai Fire Brigade, said, "The Maharashtra Fire Act still does not have a provision for mandatory electrical audits. We cannot make it compulsory unless there is a provision. The norms of electric audit such as period of auditing, standardisation of equipment will be decided by the electrical inspector of Maharashtra."