Parliament House functioning without a fire safety certificate since 10 years

By Newsgram Staff Writer

One of India's most prestigious building, The Parliament House is not safe from fire. It's been nearly a decade now that the 12 acre complex is functioning without a fire safety certificate, reported english news channel NDTV.

In less than two weeks time, the building has seen two fires, the latest on Sunday, when insulation material next to the air conditioner unit caught fire during its maintenance.work.

"The fact is that this is an old building and even the wiring may be old, we are checking to make sure that it is safe and whatever requirements are needed to get the fire approval can be obtained," Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, the Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, told the channel.

The Delhi Fire Service carried out an inspection in August 2013 and recommended corrective measures to the Lok Sabha Secretariat.

The fire department had asked for the installation of sprinklers, modification of emergency exits and rewiring of cables. But none of these measures has been taking so far, and the Parliament House is functioning without a mandatory safety clearance