I'm posting this on behalf of Vivek Reddy of the BJP Legislative cell. Vivek is gathering inputs for a reform to the current Fire-safety laws and their enforcement. He was keen on getting inputs from Praja too. I had referred the following two threads to him.
http://praja.in/en/projects/2010/03/12/fire-safety-project-bring-awareness-and-seriousness
Further inputs will be appreciated
* Who are the local experts on the area that could contribute to this activity?
* Are you aware of some measures and best-practices adopted successfully in other countries?
* Anyone who has knowledge of the law and can critique the current legislation?
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Comments
Thanks for this post on fire safety
I have no knowledge on fire safety legislation. My only knowledge of fire safety is with recently working with the builder of my apartment and getting our fire fighting system working and reading part of the National Building Code.
The key question for Vivek and the BJP legislative cell is whether what we have is really a legislative gap?
Or a consequence of flouting of norms, poor enforcement and corruption? I feel it is the latter.
The biggest legislative change that can be made would be to introduce accountability and absolute transparency and clarity to the process of building a structure and getting it cleared and ensuring safety rules are not flouted. Finally, there should be accountability. Who is responsible? If the builder or building owner is able to bribe and get away and then jailed in the event of a disaster, that is no good. There should be onus on officials to discharge their duty or be tried in court when such disasters occur for dereliction of duty and even involuntary homicide, if that charge is warranted.
It would be great to get a response from Vivek Reddy on what they have found so far and have a constructive debate in this forum.
Thanks again for reaching out.