In the past two days, more than 50 primary and pre-primary schools without BU and fire No Objection Certificate (NOC) permits have been sealed by the AMC
The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has sealed over 300 pre-schools for operating without Building Use (BU) permits or fire safety certificates. In response, the pre-school owners’ association on Saturday demanded 90 days to rectify or procure the necessary documents.
The association claimed that the schools were sealed without prior notice or warning about the requirement for changing the purpose of building use. “Pre-school owners demand that the civic bodies and the government ensure that the pre-schools with adequate fire safety equipment, as per existing guidelines, may be allowed to operate and the civic body should open the sealed premises,” the association stated. They also requested that pre-schools applying for a change of ‘building use’ under the Impact (GRUDA) Act be prioritized and reopened after checking fire safety norms.
In a meeting attended by representatives from around 150 school managements across Gujarat, private school associations expressed their intention to conduct classes in tents if the issue remains unresolved. Bhaskar Patel, Chairman of the Gujarat School Management Association, said, “We will teach from tents outside the sealed school buildings if the issue is not addressed by the authorities. We will submit a written representation to the chief minister on Monday and wait for a week, else start teaching from tents.”
Patel pointed out that many schools had already paid the requisite fees and applied for permits, but the authorities had yet to grant permission.
In the past two days, more than 50 primary and pre-primary schools without BU and fire No Objection Certificate (NOC) permits have been sealed by the AMC. On June 13, when the new academic session began in Gujarat, over 240 schools across the state were sealed for non-compliance with fire safety or BU permits, or both.
This crackdown follows a directive from the Gujarat Government after a tragic fire at the Rajkot TRP gaming zone and amusement park last month, which claimed 27 lives. The government has instructed all municipal corporations, district collectors, and relevant district authorities to conduct thorough surveys of schools.
