After the tragic fire incident in a coaching centre in Lucknow on Monday, where 15 young students lost their lives due to ignorance of the institute owner to fulfil the fire and safety norms, the Fire and Emergency Service Department of Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has realised the need to identify such coaching centres which pose serious threat to the lives of the students in the city. Responding to the urgency, the Fire Department has initiated intensive checking of coaching centres in city and crackdown on 141 centres violating the fire safety norms. This decisive enforcement targets institute owners who deliberately ignore fire and safety norms, a negligence that regularly threatens catastrophic mishaps and endangers the lives of students.

 

These foundational protocols are primarily governed by the National Building Code (NBC) of India and enforced by state-specific regulations, such as the Maharashtra Fire Prevention and Life Safety Measures Act. They mandate the installation of certified fire detection systems, unblocked evacuation pathways, accessible suppression equipment, and routine safety drills to guarantee safe egress during emergencies. The departmental records up to June 23, 2026, reveal that out of the inspected educational and tuition buildings, a staggering 141 institutes were slapped with enforcement actions under Section 6 of the Act for maintaining completely inadequate fire prevention apparatus. Due to their persistent non-compliance, the Fire Department aggressively scaled up its penal measures, serving structural evacuation notices under Section 8(1) to 103 institutes. Furthermore, to force immediate adherence to safety protocols, the NMC went ahead and disconnected vital utility lines -- cutting off power and water supplies for 40 seriously defaulting coaching centres under Section 8(2).

 

The data also indicates that 15 cases faced prosecution under Section 36, while 60 formal intimation letters were dispatched directly to respective zone offices to co-ordinate localised sealing operations. On the compliance front, only 36 institutes successfully fulfilled the fire safety criteria to submit their Form ‘A’ certifications, while a nominal five managed to clear their Form ‘B’ requirements. The secondary dataset up to June 22 highlights that out of another mini-batch of 6 scrutinised structures, only six held provisional No Objection Certificate (NOCs) and a mere three had secured final NOCs, forcing the enforcement wing to issue immediate power disconnections to two centres. The Fire Department has asserted that, these inspection drives will continue relentlessly until every commercial coaching centre secures structural fitness certificates.

 

Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Pravin Datke has urged the Maharashtra Government to conduct a comprehensive inspection of buildings housing coaching classes across the State and take action against institutes operating without the necessary permissions and safety clearances. Raising the issue through a Point of Propriety in the Legislative Assembly, Datke referred to the tragic fire incident that occurred on June 22 in Aliganj, Lucknow, where a massive blaze in a commercial building claimed the lives of 15 students aged between 15 and 25 years. Datke said, preliminary reports indicated that the coaching institute where the fire broke out lacked adequate fire safety arrangements.

 

The building reportedly did not possess a valid Fire No-Objection Certificate (NOC) and was allegedly being used for commercial purposes in violation of regulations. Expressing concern over student safety, Datke said, Maharashtra must take proactive measures to prevent such a tragedy from occurring in the State. He urged the Government to immediately verify whether buildings housing coaching classes possess the required building permissions, Fire NOCs and other mandatory safety clearances. Datke further demanded that, authorities conduct a Statewide audit of coaching institutes and ensure strict compliance with fire safety norms and building regulations. He also called for stringent action against institutes operating in violation of safety standards and sought the closure of coaching centres that endanger the lives of students. Datke emphasised that student safety must remain the topmost priority and urged the Government to act swiftly to identify and do away with potential risks in educational establishments across Maharashtra.