Delhi is preparing for a citywide fire safety audit covering homes and buildings in both authorised neighbourhoods and unauthorised colonies after a series of fatal fires, with the Ministry of Home Affairs directing the Municipal Corporation of Delhi to prepare an implementation blueprint.
The MCD has been asked to tell the Home Ministry in October how much time, money and manpower would be required for the exercise. The ministry will use that assessment to decide how the audit should be ordered and carried out, according to a report by Live Hindustan – NCR.
The proposed audit will examine the structural condition of buildings and whether they comply with fire-safety requirements. A senior Delhi government official cited in the report said officials would assess a building’s electrical load, age, fire-protection arrangements and the safety of routes from entry to exit. The audit would also examine whether nearby electrical wires create a risk of fire.
The plan follows several major fires in Delhi in recent years. A fire at a Bread and Breakfast restaurant in Malviya Nagar in June 2026 reportedly killed 23 people, while a fire in Palam in March 2026 killed nine. The May 2024 fire at a hospital in Vivek Vihar that killed eight newborn babies and the May 2022 Mundka factory fire that killed 27 people have also intensified scrutiny of fire prevention and response systems in the capital.
A meeting chaired by Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan was recently held at the Ministry of Home Affairs to discuss the issue. Officials from the Delhi government, MCD, Delhi Fire Services, Delhi Development Authority and New Delhi Municipal Council attended the meeting. The MCD was instructed to prepare a plan for door-to-door assessment of structural safety and compliance with fire-safety standards, including in unauthorised colonies.
The inclusion of unauthorised colonies would extend the exercise beyond conventional building-control systems. Such areas often have dense construction, narrow access lanes and complex ownership or approval records, but the report does not specify how inspections, notices or remedial action would be enforced there. The immediate task assigned to the MCD is to define the scale, duration, staffing and financial requirement of the audit.
The meeting also set out a three-year plan to strengthen Delhi’s fire department. The proposed measures include increasing staff, adding fire stations and procuring modern equipment. The Delhi government will provide the budget for this work, while fire officials have been asked to study equipment and operating methods used in Bengaluru, Mumbai and other states.
The DDA has separately been directed to make land available quickly at locations where new fire stations are proposed. The report says the government has already sought land from the development authority as part of efforts to expand the city’s fire-station network. The next formal milestone is the MCD’s submission to the Home Ministry on the time, funding and personnel required for the citywide audit.
