The country has still not forgotten the horrific incident of Aparora Night Club in Goa. 25 innocent lives ended in a moment, someone’s brother, someone’s husband, someone’s father… there is no cure for that pain. But the surprising thing is that the country’s capital Delhi is also breathing amidst such carelessness. Investigation has revealed that there are approximately 1,000 hotels and clubs operating in Delhi, but only 90 of these have fire safety NOC. These 90 establishments include 52 hotels and 38 clubs. Fire safety experts have warned that hundreds of establishments are running without mandatory safety checks and equipment, which could invite a major accident.
There are estimated to be around 1,000 licensed hospitality establishments in Delhi, but despite repeated requests, the concerned departments of the Delhi government could not provide the updated number of total hotels and clubs in the capital by December 2025. Fire safety experts on Monday drew attention to a major flaw in Delhi’s Fire NOC system. According to experts, once the NOC is issued by the fire department, which remains valid for three years, there is no regular monitoring of violations in the establishments. The reason is that the concerned agencies have not been given the authority to conduct interim inspections, due to which many hotels, bars and clubs continue to operate without following the safety standards.
Former Delhi Fire Service chief Atul Garg said fire NOC is issued only after detailed inspection, but restaurants, cafes, clubs and hotels then make various changes to the premises which remain unexamined for a long time. “The fire department or other agencies issuing NOCs do not have the power to conduct re-inspection unless a complaint is filed or an accident occurs. That’s why many violations go undetected for years,” he said.
Atul Garg said that it is not mandatory for restaurants operating in an area of less than 90 square meters in Delhi to obtain fire safety certificate. He explained that establishments operating between 90 and 270 square meters are required to have two staircases, and both must be at least 1.5 meters wide. At the same time, in establishments larger than 270 square meters, it is mandatory to have at least one staircase 2 meters wide and the other 1.5 meters wide. According to Garg, many restaurant owners make changes to the premises later to make the interiors attractive and to increase the seating capacity. This compromises essential security measures. He said many such violations go undetected for years due to lack of regular inspections by the agencies concerned.
The former fire director stressed that the government needs to develop a mechanism under which rule violations in restaurants and nightclubs can be regularly checked. This investigation can be done through both periodic inspections or surprise raids. He suggested that an independent agency could be formed to inspect these business establishments at regular intervals and ensure that all safety standards and rules are followed. According to him, real-time monitoring of restaurants and clubs by getting CCTV live feed can also be a practical and effective option.
This is how negligence happens
Many times people in Delhi are allowed inside more than their capacity. In the greed of earning, the operators ignore the safety rules, whereas the provisions of Fire NOC are quite strict. According to the rules, bars should have two separate doors for entry and exit and two stairs are mandatory, but most of the bars in the city do not follow this standard. Separate permission has to be taken to play music at low decibels in the bar, and it also has to be ensured that the sound does not spill out during entry and exit. Despite this, almost all bars play loud music. The rules also say that bars can remain open only till 1 am, but a large number of bars are seen operating till 4 am.
According to the information, bars built in an area of less than 90 square meters show their seating capacity as 48 on paper, as fire NOC is not mandatory for such establishments. But taking advantage of this relaxation, many times the operators openly flout the rules by installing 80 to 100 chairs. Whereas the bars which have a license for a capacity of 100 people, in reality they allow more than 150 people inside.
There is no concrete system for monitoring bar operations. There is no provision for regular investigation by any independent agency or department, on the basis of which violations can be detected and show cause notices can be issued. This is the reason why bars continuously break the rules and the process of canceling their licenses is also not done effectively.
Restaurants and bars are running even in residential and unauthorized colonies.
According to the rules in Delhi, restaurants, bars and hotels can be opened only on commercially notified roads. Despite this, bars are also operating in many residential and unauthorized colonies in the capital. Local people allege that all this would not have been possible without the connivance of Delhi Police, Municipal Corporation’s Public Health Department, Public Health Inspector and Deputy Health Officers. It is alleged that due to irregularities in the inspection and licensing process, such establishments are running without permission.
There are no rules for electric firecrackers
The use of electric firecrackers during parties is increasing rapidly in many bars and clubs of Delhi. These electric firecrackers are not available in the open market, but are specially prepared on order. The matter of concern is that there are neither any clear rules on their manufacture, sale or use, nor any kind of monitoring system. Due to this lack of rules, their trend is continuously increasing. Initial investigation has also revealed the role of electric firecrackers in the Goa club fire case.
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