Margao: Nearly eight months after 25 people died in the Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub fire at Arpora, a Goa Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) survey has confirmed what many in the industry long suspected—between 80% and 90% of Goa’s industrial units are operating without valid fire clearances.
The finding raises a larger question about the state’s fire safety regime. While the absence of fire NOCs is now quantified, the more troubling reality is that many of these units have been functioning for years despite the compliance gap.
The fire department, however, maintains that enforcement has become more stringent since the Arpora tragedy.
“There is strict compliance with the laws in force,” said Nitin Raikar, director of fire and emergency services. “All parameters are checked during inspections before granting NOCs. Compliance has been made more stringent following the Romeo by Birch incident.”
Raikar said every high-rise building above 15m undergoes inspections at two stages—an initial NOC before the construction licence is issued and a final NOC before the occupancy certificate is granted. Trade licences, he added, are issued by municipalities and other authorities only after a fire NOC has been obtained.
Industry representatives, however, argue that the compliance framework itself has become a hurdle, particularly for older MSMEs.
Goa State Industries Association (GSIA) president Pradip da Costa said the fire department applies the National Building Code uniformly, often requiring costly upgrades that smaller units struggle to implement. He has proposed a consultative committee comprising officials from the fire department, GIDC and the factories and boilers department to assess applications individually and prescribe fire safety measures based on actual risk rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.
One reform that has found support from both the department and industry is the introduction of third-party fire audits, which the state has now formally adopted.
Raikar said the system will become operational once the one-year validity of NOCs already issued by the department expires. “The independent auditors will conduct the audit and submit the report to us. This NOC will now be valid for five years instead of one,” he said.
Ashok Menon, former director of fire and emergency services, who had advocated third-party audits during his tenure, welcomed the move but cautioned that its success would depend on implementation.
He said the state must ensure accredited auditors are actually assigned inspections and that audit reports are placed in the public domain to improve accountability.Menon also pointed to a less visible but growing fire hazard inside older buildings. As industrial and commercial premises accumulate electrical installations, wooden partitions, synthetic furnishings and stored materials over time, their combustible load increases without triggering fresh inspections or revised safety assessments.He noted that smoke, rather than flames, is responsible for most fire fatalities. Toxic gases such as carbon monoxide released from burning synthetic materials can incapacitate occupants within minutes, especially where exits are blocked or poorly marked.The same concern was echoed at a two-day seminar organised by the Fire and Security Association of India (FSAI) Goa chapter in June, where speakers stressed that obtaining a fire NOC is only the beginning. Property owners, they said, must take responsibility for maintaining fire safety systems, conducting regular drills and periodically certifying compliance.Experts also said licensing authorities—including panchayats, municipalities and planning bodies—must ensure fire clearances are in place before issuing occupancy or trade permissions.On preparedness, Raikar said the department conducts regular training programmes for officials from panchayats, municipalities and govt departments. He added that the department is equipped with modern firefighting equipment, including a 42m hydraulic ladder for firefighting and rescue operations.Menon said public awareness must become an equally important part of the state’s fire safety strategy.
“Capacity building is the key. Build the capacities of citizens—small children, adults and senior citizens. Ensure that training happens,” he said.For Goa’s industrial estates, however, the numbers remain stark. If the GIDC survey reflects the true scale of non-compliance, four of every five industrial units may be operating without a valid fire clearance. Until fire safety norms become both enforceable and realistically achievable—and regulators and property owners are held equally accountable—the state’s fire risk will continue to grow.
