Nagpur: Following two consecutive TOI reports exposing the regulatory hurdles faced by Nagpur Municipal Corporation’s (NMC) own headquarters, civic administration has initiated the process for obtaining the building’s long-pending occupancy certificate (OC) and final fire compliance certificate.
Sources had said the case was being treated as a violation under the Environmental Impact Assessment Notification, 2006. Because its built-up area is understood to be around 42,000 sq m, well above the 20,000-sq-m threshold requiring environmental clearance, the building’s environmental-clearance issue is particularly significant.
Municipal commissioner Vipin Itankar told TOI that NMC has started the process for procuring both certificates and assigned the task to town planning department in-charge and officiating deputy director of town planning Ruturaj Jadhav. “We have started the process to procure the occupancy certificate and fire compliance certificate,” Itankar said. Jadhav told TOI that his department had begun examining all documents pertaining to the seven-storey administrative building. “We will comply with all laid-down norms by fulfilling all mandatory processes,” he said. Jadhav said NMC would examine all such requirements as part of the certification process. “The govt has given some relaxation in the norms for govt buildings,” Jadhav said.
He, however, pointed out that the civic body, being a govt institution, would get certain relaxations in environmental-clearance requirements while procuring the OC.
Because of structural changes, fire officials had earlier said final fire compliance certificate was pending. Sources had pointed to several deviations, including the Command and Operation Centre being created in a space sanctioned as a hall. The approach to the terrace was also reportedly blocked by a wall, while both emergency staircases were obstructed by air-cooler ducts.