Kolkata: The West Bengal Fire Department is working on two proposals that are aimed at improving the ease of doing business, particularly for bars and restaurants in the city.Speaking at an interactive session with members of the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI), fire department additional director general Abhijit Pandey said plans were afoot to merge the ‘Fire Safety Certificate or Fire NOC’ with the ‘Fire Licence’ so that applicants would have to fill up a single form for processing. At present, restaurants and bars can apply for a fire licence only after they receive the fire NOC.While the Fire NOC is a structural and technical clearance confirming that a building’s layout, exits, and installed fire-fighting equipment comply with the National Building Code (NBC) and safety laws, the Fire Licence is required for storage and use of hazardous material like LPG and oil in restaurants. “Merging the Fire Safety Certificate and the Fire Licence is part of ongoing govt efforts to improve the ease of doing business by reducing bureaucratic red tape and eliminating duplicate compliance steps. It will not mean relaxation of safety norms but compress the time required to get the clearances if there is compliance,” Pandey said.Another key measure being planned by the fire department is to increase the ambit for self declaration-based fire licensing mechanism to include larger restaurants and bars. At present, the self-declaration allows a unit that is under 2,000 sq ft or has less than 70 seats to put all necessary fire protection systems in place before providing a declaration. Thereafter, the fire department conducts an inspection and grants a Fire NOC if the declaration is correct.With NRAI members highlighting the challenge of getting Fire NOC for restaurants that were operating in old buildings whose sanction plans were not available, the fire department official cited other options.“If the sanction plan is not available, get a Kolkata Municipal Corporation Inspection Book (IB) entry copy. If that is not possible, then we ask for a copy of the building plan. To get that, engage a Licensed Building Surveyor to prepare the plan of the building as it stands now and get this plan certified by the sanctioning authority,” the ADG said.While the IB is maintained by the KMC assessment department, the sanctioning authority referred to is the building department of the civic body. The fire department officials also urged the restaurant owners not to engage with touts to get Fire NOC or Fire Licence and instead approach the department directly so that they received the correct advice.Of the 500-odd NRAI members in Kolkata, around 50 were present for the interaction on Monday. Restaurant owners present including Pratap Daryanani of Oasis, Manish Sharma of Desi Lane and Anirban Sengupta of What’s Up! Cafe said the clarifications provided would help restaurants comply with the norms.“One of the major issues is that many restaurants in Kolkata are situated in buildings that were constructed before Independence and it is difficult to get hold of their plans. With the fire officials listing out alternatives, we will try to get them and apply afresh,” said Daryanani whose restaurant on Park Street is six decades old.
