the goan I network
PANAJI
​Chief Secretary Dharmendra Sharma on Monday convened a meeting with Collector North Goa Nila Mohanan and Director of Fire and Emergency Services Ashok Menon and asked the two authorities to relax the fire safety norms for small traders with shops below 50 sq mts area.
The meeting was attended by BJP spokesperson Dattaprasad Naik, BJP Youth Wing secretary Pramay Mainkar, Mapusa-based businessman Salim Isani businessmen from Mapusa and BJP’s Mapusa general secretary Damu Lanjekar.
The meeting was convened immediately after BJP spokesperson Naik submitted a memorandum before the CS seeking intervention into the order dated January 18 issued by the North Goa Collector Mohanan in the capacity of being the Chairman of the North Goa District Disaster management Authority.
The order was issued to all panchayats, municipalities and the CCP to ensure that commercial establishments in North Goa mandatorily comply with fire safety norms and no renewal of trade licenses be affected until these norms are complied with.
Chief Secretary has directed the Directorate of Fire Services to consider relaxation of norms for shops below 50 sq mtrs along with relaxation in ownership documents. It was also decided that local bodies would soon be instructed to begin issuing trade licenses by taking an undertaking that compliance to fire safety norms would be done within 30 days.
The BJP, in its memorandum pointed to the smaller quantum of turnover of several traders, who usually rent business spaces or have temporary spaces and said that this class of traders would find it difficult to install the necessary equipment and face hardships if compelled to do the same in a strict time-frame.
​In the light of facts, the CS was requested to provide the affected traders with a relief.
