Nagpur Municipal Corporation’s (NMC) Fire and Emergency Services Department has launched a massive, stringent enforcement campaign targeting 2,447 high-risk buildings across the city. The intensified drive marks a significant policy shift from merely issuing administrative warnings to executing strict on-ground punitive action against persistent safety violators. According to senior Fire officials, the immediate enforcement strategy will focus heavily on high-traffic commercial establishments, hotels, restaurants, and mixed-use structures where residential and commercial spaces co-exist, magnifying risks during emergencies.

 

The department will aggressively target properties that have stubbornly ignored repeated compliance directives. Property owners will be granted a final seven-day notice period to rectify existing deficiencies, failing which immediate sealing operations and utility disconnection will be enforced. The scale of non-compliance across city is extensive. Departmental data reveals that a staggering 2,447 buildings have been slapped with notices under Section 6 of the Maharashtra Fire Prevention and Life Safety Measures Act, 2006, for failing to maintain standard safety systems.

 

Out of these, 1,718 premises have already been officially declared unsafe and ordered to vacate under Section 8(1). Furthermore, the civic body has authorised the disconnection of essential water and electricity supplies for 1,276 properties under Section 8(2), while seeking police intervention in 317 instances to evict occupants from hazardous premises. Underscoring its zero-tolerance approach, the department has already sealed 24 buildings under Section 8(3) and initiated criminal prosecutions in 100 cases under Section 36, alongside 52 active legal proceedings under Section 40. This operation follows direct policy instructions from Mayor Neeta Thakre and Fire Committee Chairperson Rupali Thakur, who have jointly mandated the swift enforcement of safety protocols to guarantee that fire safety compliance is no longer treated as optional.