Ghaziabad: In the wake of a devastating fire at Indirapuram's Gaur Green Avenue on April 29, the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) has announced comprehensive fire safety audits for all buildings across the city. The inspections will cover high-rise apartments, shopping malls, and educational institutions to ensure compliance with safety norms and prevent future tragedies.
Scope of the Audits
The GDA has directed zonal heads to submit inspection reports within seven days. The audits will encompass more than 1,400 housing societies, approximately 50 malls, and 400 schools throughout Ghaziabad. Resident welfare associations (RWAs), apartment owners' associations (AOAs), and commercial and educational establishments must depute volunteers to assist the inspection teams.
"The zonal heads have been directed to come up with an inspection report on violations of fire safety norms in buildings in the city within seven days. RWAs, AOAs and commercial and educational establishments will have to depute volunteers to assist the team in the process," said GDA secretary Vivek Kumar Mishra.
Inspection Teams and Focus Areas
Each inspection team will include fire department officials tasked with examining critical infrastructure. Their duties will involve checking electrical panels, fire-fighting systems, and generators to verify that installations adhere to prescribed norms. Mishra added, "Their work will also entail inspection of electric panels, firefighting systems, generators, and to find out whether the installations have been done in accordance with the norms or not."
Committee Investigation at Gaur Green Avenue
A committee constituted by the district magistrate, comprising the GDA secretary, the Additional District Magistrate (Finance and Revenue), and officials from the fire and electrical safety departments, visited Gaur Green Avenue on Saturday to record statements from residents and RWA members. The April 29 fire, which originated on the ninth floor, gutted at least eight flats. The committee is tasked with determining the fire's cause and assessing whether fire tender movement, relief, and evacuation efforts were impeded. A detailed report will be submitted to the district magistrate shortly.
Violations and Bylaw Compliance
The incident highlighted multiple violations of the UP Building Bylaws, 2025. Apartment owners had installed PVC sheet awnings in balconies, a combustible material prohibited under fire safety norms. Additionally, parked cars blocked the tower entrance, and a park boundary wall further restricted access, hampering fire tender movement. The bylaws mandate a minimum six-metre motorable clearance around buildings at all times, prohibit combustible materials in temporary rooftop structures, and restrict balcony construction to heights that do not impede fire tender access. In group housing where the gap between buildings is less than nine metres, balconies are permitted only above six metres. Porticos and ramp constructions in high-rise buildings are also barred from obstructing fire tender movement.
