Delhi CM Rekha Gupta launches portal for online renewal of fire safety certificates

New Delhi, Nov 15 (PTI) Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Saturday launched a portal for online renewal of fire safety certificates, and said the move will boost ease of doing business in the capital.

Developed jointly by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) and the Delhi government, the portal will facilitate the renewal of fire safety certificates required by buildings and other establishments, officials said.

The mandatory annual self-certification report required during the validity period can also be submitted through the portal, they said.

The applicants need to provide four basic details in the user-friendly system – the address of the premises, PAN, customer account number on the electricity bill, and the previous fire clearance certificate number, Delhi Home Minister Ashish Sood said.

Previously, the fire safety certificate renewal process was entirely manual, posing substantial challenges for the applicants and the Delhi Fire Services (DFS), as the applicants were required to visit the DFS offices repeatedly for document submission and verification, an official statement said.

Manual file processing led to frequent delays, involved the risk of misplaced documents, and provided inadequate transparency. Even obtaining a status update required a physical visit, making the system time-consuming and inefficient, the statement said.

The online system has now transformed the process into a fully digital, paperless, and citizen-friendly window, where the applicants can submit their renewal form digitally along with all necessary documents, it said.

Automated, zone-based routing ensures that applications are instantly forwarded to the relevant officials.

During inspection, the DFS officials will visit the premises and upload the inspection report directly to the portal, the statement said. Once all approvals are complete, the fire safety certificate will be generated and issued online, and the applicants will receive SMS and email notifications at every stage, it said.

The chief minister said that over the past eight months since assuming charge, the Delhi government has introduced several reforms to benefit the traders, citizens, and institutions across the city.

Processes relating to fire permits, licensing, and other statutory approvals have been simplified, made more transparent, and integrated through a single-window mechanism, she said.

Earlier, multiple agencies were involved, resulting in procedural delays and inconvenience (to people), Gupta added.

In alignment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of 'Digital India', the Delhi government remains committed to delivering a 'Digital Delhi' where services are faceless, transparent, and technology-driven, the chief minister said. PTI VIT ARI