BBMP sits on reinspection power files

In the wake of the Carlton Towers fire tragedy ten months ago, a proposal from the Town Planning Department was made for amending the re-inspection powers as stated in the Karnataka Municipal Corporation (KMC) Act of 1976.

However, it is learnt that, till date, the matter has neither been discussed by officials nor taken up at the BBMP Council meeting.

Once a year

“We wanted powers to inspect the buildings at least once a year across the City for checking for any building violations by the owners of high-rise buildings,” said a Palike official.

Officials say that the proposal was made during the tenure of Bharath Lal Meena as BBMP commissioner and it was envisaged to have residents and builders provide an affidavit every year to prove that they are abiding by the norms prescribed for maintaining fire safety.

“The proposal includes keeping tabs on these builders to check whether they conduct two mock drills every year, one before summer and the other in the middle of summer. Another plan mentioned in the proposal is for the Fire and Emergency Department to conduct an inspection of fire safety equipment every five years,” the official said.