Shut and seal all private hospitals lacking fire NOC in Thane, orders high court

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Thursday ordered the shutting down and sealing of all

private

hospitals and nursing homes in Thane that do not have approvals from the

fire

department.

A division bench of Chief Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and Justice Nitin Jamdar directed the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) to “forthwith” crack down on in-patient medical faclities that did not have a no-objection certificate (

NOC

) from the fire department.

The court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Thane resident Sapan Shrivastav, who claimed that there were many private health institutions in that city that were fire hazards and were a danger to the lives of the patients, doctors and staff. By the TMC’s own admission in an affidavit before the court, of the 375 private hospitals and nursing homes in the city only 181 had obtained an NOC from the fire department. Of the remaining, around 70 institutions had been issued notices, and another 124 were in the process of being surveyed. Shrivastav, who was appearing in person in the case, said that rules were not being strictly implemented.

The bench referred to the Maharashtra Fire Prevention and Life Safety Measures Act that requires establishments to obtain the fire NOC. The law says that the fire department can close down establishments that fail to obtain clearances and violate fire safety norms. The TMC’s lawyer told the court that the corporation was conducting inspection of the private hospitals and nursing homes.

The bench was not satisfied with the response. “Why are you conducting these inspections that consume time? The coproration must have with it records of such medical facilities that have not applied for or obtained fire department clearances,” observed the judges. “Suffice it to say that the rules require the fire NOC. If some one has not applied or obtained the fire safety approvals, the TMC should forthwith seal such places,” the court ruled.

While a section of the medical fraternity hailed the order, saying it would further patient security, several others said it could spell troble for small and medium nursing homes. Doctors also called for better clarity on fire safety norms.

“It’s a welcome move. Fire no-objection certificates are a must and hospitals should comply. However, there needs to be uniformity of norms. For instance, in many places fire inspections are done twice a year, even though an NOC is to be submitted only once annually,” said Dr Vipin Checker, president, Association of Medical Consultants (AMC).

He added that every inspection involves a cost of Rs 3,500 to Rs 5,000 and could become a constraint at times.


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