Delhi High Court orders action against coaching centers violating standards

New Delhi: Following an arson attack on a coaching center in Mukherjee Nagar, Delhi, on June 15, the Delhi High Court issued an order to take action against the coaching centers that were operating in violation of the prescribed standards. The court further ordered the Delhi Police and the Fire Department to help the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) in this regard. After that, the MCD took action and issued over 900 notifications demanding answers from the coaching operators.In this vein, the corporation sought answers from 90 coaching institutes operating in the Shahdara Southern Zone across Yamuna by sending notifications to them.

The MCD's notice is based on the Delhi High Court's ruling and the Master Plan-2021 conditions. The coaching operators have been given 48 hours to respond. The coaching operators who can satisfy the Corporation with their responses and appropriate paperwork within that time frame will be allowed to continue operating, and those who are deemed unsuccessful will face sealing action from the Corporation.

Notably, a huge number of coaching institutes for CA, IAS, Engineering, Medical, Banking, and SSC preparation are running in Laxmi Nagar, Shakarpur, and Mukherjee Nagar. There are only a few of these on the main road. While many coaching centers operate on the upper floors of buildings located on narrow streets, Even four-wheelers would struggle to get through these streets. On the other hand, near Preet Vihar, there are numerous engineering and medical preparation coaching centers.

The fire in Mukherjee Nagar harmed 60 coaching students since the fire broke out on the ground floor of the building and the fire extinguishers installed in the structure were not working while they were not arranged in the coaching center.As a result, the coaching students were unable to exit the building and had to save themselves by jumping with the use of a rope to save their lives, resulting in the injuries of over a dozen students. In light of this, the High Court issued an order on July 25 ordering the closure of all coaching facilities operating without the Fire Department's NOC.

The Delhi Police had also arrested two coaching operators in this matter, who were later released on bail. Following that, the corporation began the process of sending notifications to coaching centers. In which it is also determined whether or not these coaching centers are adhering to the Master Plan-2021 criteria. If any center fails in this endeavor, action will be taken against it as well.