New building standard makes fire safety advisory, raises height threshold to 24m

New Delhi: Residential buildings under 24 metres in height — a category that includes a large number multi-storey homes, such as the ill-fated one in Delhi’s Vivek Vihar — will fall outside the scope of “fire and life safety” provisions under the newly notified National Building Construction Standards (NBCS), which replaced the National Building Code (NBC) last week.

NBCS fire and public safety norms, which are only “advisory” in nature, are applicable for buildings beyond 24 metres, against the earlier norm of 15 meters. Though the Deregulation Cell of Cabinet Secretariat had directed Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) to keep fire and life safety out of NBCS, it was included due to pushback from technical experts.

These provisions prescribe norms on how a building should be designed, equipped and managed to prevent fires and protect occupants if one occurs. This includes means of escape, and fire detection and alarm systems.

The NBCS document said that “fire and life safety” is only for guidance and referral for state govt and local authority in respect of fire safety in buildings considering that “fire services is a state subject and a municipal function” as per the Constitution.

“Provisions in NBCS have been updated considering the changes that have happened over the years. We have prescribed what states and municipalities can follow. It’s the responsibility of states and local authorities to ensure safety of structures and citizens,” said former Delhi Fire Service chief S K Dheri, who heads the fire safety committee at BIS.

TOI has learnt that one of the key reasons for replacing NBC with NBCS was the confusion created by the term “Code.” Though NBC was voluntary, its title suggested legal enforceability, leading to disputes and litigation, and courts hauling up builders and govt entities for not following the code’s provisions.

The document mentions that the nature of standards and codes has changed from a prescriptive regime, under which states and local authorities required hand holding, to a “more performance-oriented outlook, giving ample scope for innovation and decision-making”.

However, experts involved in preparation of both NBC and current NBCS have raised concerns, pointing to inadequate institutional capacity of many municipal bodies to formulate detailed norms.

Ajit Kumar SM, a committee member and president of Karnataka Professional Civil Engineers Act Steering Consortium, cautioned that increased state-level variation could result in inconsistent safety standards. He highlighted concerns about rising liability for professionals without adequate regulatory protection, potentially compromising public safety and professional integrity.



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