The Delhi high court has directed the New Delhi Municipal Corporation to reconsider its policy which exempts restaurants with a seating capacity of less than 50 persons from obtaining clearance under the Delhi Fire Service Act, observing that the eateries on the first floor flats of the market are a disaster waiting to happen.
Earlier, the National Green Tribunal had also ordered to shut down the restaurants in Haus Khas village on similar grounds.
In its order last week, the high court directed the NDMC and the Delhi Fire Service (DFS) to decide within two months whether the first floor flats that can cater to more than 50 persons qualify as “assembly building” and, if yes, whether these eateries satisfied all requirements, including fire safety norms.
As a precautionary measure, eateries have been directed to display their seating capacity prominently, along with phone number of officer of NDMC to receive complaints of over-seating.
The court also pulled up the Delhi police and New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) for granting licences to the eateries without showing concern towards preventive steps taken against the hazard. This was despite the fact that the eatery owners themselves agreed to their establishments being fire hazards.
“NDMC cannot on the one hand assume the power to grant licence for using the premises as a restaurant/eatery and on the other hand absolve itself of responsibility to satisfy itself that restaurant does not pose a fire hazard to the safety of those patronising the same and that in the event of fire, proper measures for evacuation of the patrons therein and to prevent the fire from spreading to the entire market, exist,” the court observed.
