Matchbox walls: For two years, CDA fails to enforce fire safety laws

The civic agency has not fined or checked anyone for violating the regulations.

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad’s city managers take pride in being the first municipal authority in the country that has its own set of regulations on fire prevention and safety, but when it comes to implementation, the story changes.

The Directorate of Emergency and Disaster Management (E&DM) of the CDA is perturbed over the issuance of transfer and completion certificates for properties by the CDA without adhering to the provisions of the regulation, the Islamabad Fire Prevention and Life Safety Regulations, promulgated in 2011.

Through the regulation, it is made mandatory for parties constructing new commercial buildings or selling those predating the ordinance to obtain a no-objection certificate from the EDM office prior to getting a transfer or completion certificate from the authority.

But this seems another CDA rule that was always meant to be ‘ignored’.



The EDM Directorate recently tried to draw the attention of the CDA board and the chairman by writing a letter referencing the grave violation of the regulation by authority’s own officials.

The contents of the letter, seen by The Express Tribune, clearly state that the offices of Building Control and Estate Management have been issuing NOCs at the time of transfer and completion of properties without asking the individuals to submit a mandatory NOC from the EDM office.

Section 4.3 of the ordinance says, “In case of construction of new buildings, clearance with regards to fire prevention and life safety measures, shall be required from EDM, at the time of approval of building plan…and…issuance of completion certificate by the authority.”

Similarly, the ordinance also provides that existing buildings constructed before the promulgation of ordinance required a no-objection certificate from the CDA within six months of its promulgation by installing all necessary fire safety equipments.

An EDM official asking not to be named said it was not the first time that they had dispatched that letter to concerned offices. “It was the third reminder,” he added.

He said the owners of every new and old building of over 500 square yards within the municipal limits of the CDA is required to obtain an NOC under the regulation.

“Since 2011, when the ordinance was promulgated, hundreds of properties, commercial and residential, have been transferred or completed. But none of the owners fulfilled the NOC requirement,” the official revealed.

He said even the owners of agricultural farm houses in Islamabad, which are constructed beyond 500 square yards area, are required to get NOC that sufficient arrangements are in place at their respective premises in case of fire emergency. “Farm houses are being used for commercial purposes, for weddings, private parties, etc. The owners are required to adhere the set rules,” he said.



Fire prevention and life safety measures, as described in The Islamabad Fire Prevention and Life Safety Regulations, 2010 vary with regard to height, layout, and nature of activities carried out in the building.

In February 2011, the federal government formally notified the CDA Building Standards for Fire Prevention and Life Safety 2010 in a bid to minimise the impact of fire disasters in Islamabad.

Interestingly, under the safety regulations, the CDA has the powers to vacate or seal any building or impose fines up to Rs500,000 if it finds any violation.

But, till today not even a single violator has been punished.

Talking to The Express Tribune, the CDA Environment Member Ahsan Mangi, who is also overseeing the affairs of the EDM directorate, said the owners contacting the CDA for obtaining completion certificates for new constructions have been submitting the NOC. “The authority has been facing issues in case of transfer of old commercial buildings, where the owners do not bother to get mandatory NOCs from the EDM office,” Mangi said.

Endorsing the same stance, CDA spokesperson Asim Khichi said the authority had recently served notices to the violators, and in case of non-compliance, action would be taken.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 21^st, 2013.