Nagpur: The horrific blaze at Jaipur’s Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Hospital that snuffed out eight lives in its ICU has jolted the nation, but Nagpur’s hospitals are sitting on a tragedy waiting to happen. A hard look at the records of the Nagpur Municipal Corporation’s (NMC) Fire and Emergency Services Department reveals an appalling picture of widespread fire safety violations and official indifference.
According to official data compiled till August 31, 2025, a staggering 228 hospitals across Nagpur are functioning without valid fire safety clearance or operating only on temporary approvals. Shockingly, 150 hospitals have no fire safety NOC at all, while 132 have been officially declared unsafe for patients and staff.
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Out of 348 hospitals that were granted temporary NOCs, only 131 managed to secure final compliance certificates after meeting prescribed safety standards. 57 hospitals are still under construction, and 78 were served notices under Section 6 of the Maharashtra Fire Prevention and Life Safety Measures Act, 2006, for lacking even basic firefighting arrangements.
Another 85 hospitals were officially branded unsafe under Section 8 of the same Act. The civic body, under mounting pressure, claims to have taken “punitive” action, but the figures expose how shallow enforcement has been. Power and water supply were cut off at 78 hospitals, the police were alerted in 13 cases, two hospitals were sealed, one case reached court, and one FIR was registered. Yet, hundreds continue to operate in blatant violation of fire safety laws.
Despite multiple enforcement drives, the compliance rate remains abysmally low. Of the 348 hospitals with temporary or final NOCs, only 146 have functional firefighting systems. Among the 150 hospitals running without NOCs, barely 81 have installed any safety equipment.
Experts warn that hospitals are among the most fire-prone establishments, given the constant flow of oxygen, ventilators, and high electrical loads in ICUs. “If a state-run hospital in Jaipur, with its resources, could become a death trap, imagine the condition of private hospitals in Nagpur where compliance is almost non-existent. These are ticking time bombs,” cautioned a senior fire officer.
Activists, too, are outraged. “The NMC’s so-called action, cutting power or issuing notices, is nothing but eyewash. The civic body must suspend licences and shut down unsafe hospitals immediately. Otherwise, Nagpur is heading straight for a Jaipur-like inferno,” warned a local social activist.
Under the Maharashtra Fire Prevention and Life Safety Measures Act, 2006, hospitals are legally required to obtain clearance certificates, conduct regular mock drills, and maintain firefighting infrastructure. But the audit lays bare how most hospitals treat compliance as a mere formality, while the authorities look the other way.
The Jaipur hospital fire has served as a grim reminder of the cost of negligence. Yet, in Nagpur, hundreds of patients continue to be treated daily in wards that could turn into death traps at any moment, a chilling indictment of institutional apathy and official complacency.
