National building standards to replace codes in April; experts raise concerns about fire safety

New Delhi: The National Building Code (NBC) will be replaced by the National Building Standards (NBS) by the end of April, giving powers to states and municipal bodies on matters such as development control norms, fire safety and management. This is done when the land and buildings fall within their jurisdiction.The Cabinet Secretariat has directed the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) to complete the task.Experts involved in drafting the latest NBC draft said matters related to fire safety should be part of the proposed standards and should not be tweaked, taking into account the safety of occupants and people at large. However, they said some parts of the existing guidelines may change before the Office for National Statistics publishes them.People aware of the development said the deregulation panel under the Cabinet Secretariat has asked the BIS to prepare a “manual” for certain parts of NBC, including a chapter on fire safety, which states can term as best practices.Srinivas Valluri, national president, Fire and Safety Association of India (FSAI) and member of the NBC technical committee, said: “NBC is voluntary in nature, so we feel that the code can exist and states can adapt it. It is very important to retain the sections related to fire safety. We must realize that fire safety engineering is largely lacking in our country and if we do not have national standards, the impact will be obvious considering that we lack a robust fire safety infrastructure.” 2016 year and 2025.This was confirmed by US Chhillar, another member of the technical committee, who said national standards could help guide states and municipal agencies that are otherwise less capable on such matters. “We (technical committee) wanted to inform the government about the need for these standards. But the government wanted us to simply change the sections as per their instructions,” said Chhillar, president of the Institution of Fire Engineers.Recently, the Cabinet Secretariat stepped in to withdraw the revised BIS Seismic Zoning Map Standards 2025 after the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs pointed out the increased cost, technical complexity and lack of stakeholder consultation of the metro project. The Bank for International Settlements has been instructed to withdraw the draft standard “immediately”, TOI has learned.People familiar with the matter said that it took more than two years of hard work for NBC to complete the update. Just before publication, the Cabinet Secretariat sent a letter to each state in June last year stating that it would not be mandatory to follow NBC. Instructions were subsequently issued to the Bank for International Settlements to make it a standard document and to adjust the terms.