28 July,2022 02:05 PM IST | Mumbai | PTI
Bombay High Court. File Pic
The Bombay High Court on Thursday asked why the previous and present governments in Maharashtra did not get the time to form a committee to implement fire safety rules though it reportedly issued 400-odd government resolutions (GRs) recently. A bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and MS Karnik directed the state government to file an affidavit detailing the steps it had taken to constitute such a committee and implement fire safety norms in vulnerable buildings since previous orders passed on April 11 this year.
The court's direction came after state counsel Hiten Venegaonkar said the government was in the process of including the safety draft rules framed in 2009 in the new Development Control and Planning Regulations (DCPR).
Venegaonkar told the court a special committee needs to be constituted before the draft rules can be included in the DCPR and setting up such an expert committee will take three to four months.
Also Read: Aarey: Supreme Court agrees to hear plea against tree felling on Friday
ALSO READ
Akshay Shinde custodial death: High court awaits reconstruction of crime scene
Atrocities case: IRS officer Sameer Wankhede moves HC seeking independent probe
Shivaji Maharaj statue collapse: Court grants bail to consultant Chetan Patil
Maharashtra Elections: No illegality in mobile phone ban at polling booths: HC
No urgent hearing on plea against appointment of Rashmi Shukla as DGP: HC
Asserting that this was "too long a period", the HC said, "Three and a half months for setting up the committee? We read in newspapers that recently 400 GRs were issued. But a simple committee could not be constituted even when the lives of countless people are at stake?"
The HC then asked Venegaonkar to produce by Friday relevant records to show "what progress had been made post its directions issued in April."'
The court was hearing a public interest litigation filed by advocate Aditya Pratap seeking enforcement of draft special regulations for fire safety in buildings vulnerable to man-made disasters.
The regulations were issued in 2009 in the aftermath of 26/11 terror attack in Mumbai.
This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
