Fire cess on buildings likely from May

Express News Service
Hyderabad, March 23: Called on to fight a severe financial squeeze, the Fire Services Department has sought the State Government's permission to collect a surcharge of one percent of the property tax as fire cess on lands and buildings per annum.
The proceeds of fire surcharge, estimated to be around Rs 6 crore per year, would be used exclusively for procuring equipment, vehicles and other needs for ensuring effective safety and protective measures against outbreak of fire.
The file is under circulation among concerned departments and once cleared, the proposal would be placed before the Cabinet for its approval. The fire cess is most likely to be collected from May onwards.
The AP Fire and Emergency Operations and Levy of Fee Rules 2006 came into force after they were passed by the Assembly in December last year and the department has requested the State Government to permit collection of the fire surcharge tax.
``We have urged the State Government to instruct all municipal commissioners for collecting the fire surcharge tax after the Municipal Administration Department issued appropriate orders,'' senior officials of the Home Department told Express.
According to them, several States including Karnataka, Maharashtra and Delhi have been collecting the fire cess from the building owners since many years.
``The department is facing shortage of manpower and equipment and the shortcomings were visible when fire broke out at more than dozen premises including several high-rise buildings in the twin cities last year,'' the
officials pointed.
As part of its fire prevention drive, the department has inspected 12,491 premises including 2,400 high-rise buildings, 1,561 cinema theatres, 1,330 industrial establishments and 7,200 educational institutions and identified
the shortcomings regarding compliance of mandatory fire safety measures. The mishaps were mainly due to non-implementation of fire statutes and related government instructions.
The State Government has been requested to amend the AP Cinema Regulations and formulate guidelines for shopping malls and multiplexes and prohibit supply of essential services to high-rise buildings which do not confirm to mandatory fire safety norms.
Proposals have also been sent to the State Government to upgrade the fire fighting and rescue capacity in the twin cities, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Tirupati and sanction of 151 fire outposts, including 68 in the Assembly Constituencies, which do not have even a single fire station.
``Once the amount is realised, we need not look to the State Government for funds to meet our requirements,'' the officials said.