Guidelines for Performance Audit on Adequacy of Infrastructure – Physical and Human in Rendering Fire and Emergency Services in Puducherry

GUIDELINES FOR PERFORMANCE AUDIT ON ADEQUACY OF INFRASTRUCTURE – PHYSICAL AND HUMAN IN RENDERING FIRE AND EMERGENCY SERVICES IN PUDUCHERRY

Office of the Principal Accountant General (General and Social Sector Audit) Tamil Nadu and Puducherry

CONTENTS

CONTENTS 2

CHAPTER 1 – DOMAIN INFORMATION 4

CHAPTER II – AUDIT APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY 11

ANNEXURE – AUDIT DESIGN MATRIX 14

CHAPTER 1 – Domain Information

1. Introduction

Fire service is one of the most important emergency response services in the country, which comes under the 12th schedule of the Constitution dealing with Municipal functions. At present, fire prevention and fire fighting services are organized by the concerned States and Union Territories (UTs), and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs). Directorate of National Disaster Response Force and Civil Defence (Fire Cell), Ministry of Home Affairs render technical advice to the States and UTs on fire protection, prevention, and legislation.

As per National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) guidelines, Fire Service is one of the Emergency Support Functions (ESF). The role of fire services also includes effective fire prevention, creating awareness on fire safety, and enforcing the inbuilt fire protection arrangements for various types of occupancies in line with National Building Code (NBC). As per a recent analysis by the Standing Fire Advisory Committee/Council (SFAC) constituted by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India,, the overall deficiency in the country in terms of number of Fire Stations is 97.54 per cent, in terms of fire fighting and rescue vehicles is 80.04 per cent and in terms of fire personnel is 96.28 per cent, respectively, which was quite alarming.

2. Union Territory of Puducherry

The Union Territory of Puducherry (UTP) comprises of four non-contiguous regions namely Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam. The UTP covers an area of about 500 sq km with a population of 1,244,464 persons (Census 2011). The overall density of population in the UTP is 2,034 persons per sq.km. About 76 per cent of the population of the UTP resides in the district of Puducherry, which covers 62 per cent of the geographical area. The district of Karaikal has a population of 200,314 persons (2011) and covers a total geographical area of 160 sq km while Yanam and Mahe covers 20 sq.km and nine sq.km area and account for a total population of 55,616 and 41,934 persons, respectively.

In UTP, the Fire Service Department has been functioning as a separate department since 1984 with the primary mandate of preventing loss of life and safeguard property during times of natural and manmade disasters. Main functions of the Department are Rescue the life and property of people from fire during natural calamities and manmade disasters, educate the public on fire prevention and ensure proper fire safety arrangements, adopt prevention measures in public gatherings during the time of Kumbabishegam, Exhibitions, Circus and VVIP visits, attending special service calls to rescue person stranded in Well, Ponds, etc., and issue of No objection certificate on fire safety to trades and industries involving risks of fire.

3. Scenario of fire accidents in UTP

The year wise data on number of fire accidents with property involved, damaged, saved and live lost during the period from 2013-14 to 2016-17 in the UTP is as follows:

Year No. of Property No. of Live fire calls (Rs. in crore) Special Involved Damaged Saved Service Lost Saved calls 2013-14 1196 127.12 22.77 104.35 111 Nil Nil 2014-15 1088 20.41 5.80 14.61 380 8 72 2015-16 930 9.30 1.78 7.52 378 27 0 2016-17 1179 42.13 17.29 24.84 316 24 15

4. Fire services in UTP

In UTP, thirteen fire stations are functioning - nine in Puducherry, two in Karaikal and one each in Mahe and Yanam regions. Each station is provided with one or two Fire Engines, an Ambulance and appliances1 and life saving equipments2. All the fire stations are provided with landline telephones and wireless sets. The UTP has not enacted the Fire Service Act as recommended (October 1958) by the Government of India (GOI). In the absence of such an enactment, the department follows the recommendations of the SFAC, the Tamil Nadu Fire Service Manual and National Building Code - Part IV.

1 Water Tender, Emergency Tender, Rescue Tender, Foam Tender, Feeder Unit, Small Fire Engine 2 Chain Saw operated by power, Portable Chain Saw, Circular Saw, Insect Protection Suits, Life Buoy & Life Jackets, Aluminium Suits, Inflatable Lighting Tower, Breathing Apparatus Sets etc

5. Standing Fire Advisory Council recommendations

A Standing Fire Advisory Committee was constituted by the Government of India (Ministry of Home Affairs) on the recommendation of the Chiefs of Fire Services in 1955 to examine the technical problems relating to fire services and to advise the Government of India on matters concerning the organisation and speedy development of fire services all over the country. The Committee was renamed as Standing Fire Advisory Council in the year 1980. The Committee/Council has held 33 meetings and the recommendations of the Council on Fire safety inter-alia included:

 The State may enact Legislation on the Organisation of Fire and Emergency services and on Fire Prevention covering all aspects of fire safety, enforcement of Codes of practice and NBC of India  Each State should have one State Fire and Emergency Service Headquarter (HQ), Divisional Fire and emergency service HQ, Fire Station and Rural Fire posts  One Fire station for geographical area of 10.36 sq.km and the Fire Stations should be so located that a maximum of three minutes response time would be achieved in all high hazards and closely built up areas, and a response time of not more than five minutes in other areas  The Council has recommended the number of minimum standard equipment that are needed in State Headquarters, Divisional Headquarters and in Fire Stations, and manpower required for its operation – one Assistant Divisional Fire Officer for three Fire Stations and Fire Station to have one Station Officer, one Assistant Station Officer per shift, one Leading Fire Man per fire appliance and other crew for the appliances  Fire services should scrutinise all plans for new buildings within the municipal limits of each city/town in the State from fire safety angle and to inspect such buildings with a view to recommend the issue of occupancy certificate.  Fire service will focus on Mass awareness to reduce fire accidents, prepare and disseminate simple and educative literature on fire prevention measures  Communication and Alarm System should provide a monitoring and information facility in the Central / Command / Divisional Control Rooms, a Watch Room in each Fire Station to ensure expeditious receipts of fire calls and dispatch of appliances to the incident scene, Mobile station on each fire appliance, etc, so as to mobilise the resources from

6 among the Divisional offices. Adequate water for fire fighting within the urban areas should be ensured.

6. National Disaster Management Authority guidelines

In order to organize a conscious, planned and a determined effort in all the states to improve fire fighting capabilities in the country, prevent unacceptable deaths and huge loss of property, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) framed guidelines in April 2012 to provide direction and guidance to the central, state governments and the urban local bodies on the issues relating to setting up of fire stations, their spread at different levels, their scaling, type of equipments and training of manpower. The guidelines inter alia covered:

 To prevent fire hazard, there should be a Fire Act which should inter alia provide for mandatory clearance from the fire service department for all high rise buildings, residential clusters, colonies, business centres, malls, oil and natural gas installations, Hospitals, hotels with more than 100 rooms, cinema halls, stadiums etc. that they are self sufficient in fire fighting capabilities and it should be mandatory for the respective fire station officer to check whether in each such location in his jurisdiction, fire fighting capabilities and adequate escape facilities are in place, fire drills are held regularly and that the people living there are aware of what should be done in case of fire.  Provision should also be made for right of way for fire tenders and proper parking locations for fire fighting appliances at such busy and vulnerable locations.  For fire fighting, water availability is a vital requirement and of even greater significance in the hill areas where more and more settlements are coming up and it is necessary to ensure that sufficient water is readily available for fire fighting near about the habitations. For this purpose, all available natural resources of water may need to be surveyed and tapped, storage tanks should be constructed at suitable and possible locations within the towns and other vulnerable areas for use in emergencies  Fire hydrants existing in the town need to be checked regularly and ensured that they are functional and maps plotting area-wise locations of fire hydrants should be available in the local fire station, police station and revenue office etc.  The State shall prepare a comprehensive plan for revamping the Fire Services on the basis of norms laid down by the SFAC for fire services and to utilise the 13th Finance Commission grant for the purpose.

 The Fire hazard response and mitigation plan should include a calendar of activities for mass awareness and inspection of fire fighting facilities and equipment especially in schools, busy shopping malls, high rise buildings and residential clusters, to reduce the fire accidents by controlling it in time

7. Fire hazard and Risk study and National Building Code

The Directorate of National Disaster Response Force and Civil Defence (Fire), Ministry of Home Affairs conducted a study in December 2011 on “Fire Hazard and Risk Analysis for revamping the fire services in the country” to identify existing gaps in terms of availability and requirement of fire stations, capacity building, trained manpower and fire fighting, rescue and other specialised equipment by the Consultant viz Risk Modelling and Insurance (RMSI). RMSI conducted the study in Puducherry and recommended that the Puducherry Fire service should be computerised, Fire Prevention wing should be strengthened to carryout regular fire drills, fire-inspection, awareness and training to public and well-equipped model workshop should be established to take care of day-to-day repairs of fire vehicles.

The National Building Code of India (NBC) is a national instrument providing guidelines for regulating the building construction activities across the country. It serves as a Model Code for adoption by all agencies involved in building construction works by Public Works Departments, other government construction departments, local bodies or private construction agencies. Part IV of NBC specifies the requirement for fire prevention, life safety and fire protection standards in various types of buildings.

6. Organisation set up

At Government level, the Secretary to Government (Fire Services) is the administrative head who exercises overall control over the Fire Services Department. He is assisted by the Division Fire Officer (DFO) who is functioning as the technical head of the Fire Service department. There are thirteen3 fire stations spread over the four regions. All the fire stations are headed by Station Officers.

3 Puducherry – 9, Karaikal – 2, Mahe – 1 and Yanam – 1

SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT (FIRE)

7. Financial Outlay

The expenditure incurred by the department during the period from 2013-14 to 2017- 18 is as follows: (Rs. in crore) Year Plan Non-Plan B.E. R.E Actual B.E. R.E. Actual 2013-14 5.26 5.23 4.25 3.84 4.35 3.12 2014-15 5.25 5.25 5.17 4.78 4.96 4.79 2015-16 7.75 7.65 7.34 6.58 5.03 6.58 2016-17 7.56 8.25 6.02 5.28 5.71 5.50 2017-18 6.29 NA NA 5.70 NA NA

Besides the above budget provisions, Modern fire fighting and rescue operation equipments/vehicles at a cost of Rs.10.00 crore were procured from the funds released by the World Bank under Coastal Disaster Risk Reduction Project (CDRRP). Under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme “Modernisation of Fire and Emergency Services”, an amount of Rs.2.00 crore was released by GOI in April 2016. Further, a proposal for availing negotiated loan from M/s HUDCO to a tune of Rs.2.00 crore for development of infrastructure was submitted during December 2016.

CHAPTER 2 – Audit Approach and Methodology

CHAPTER 2 – Audit approach and Methodology

1. Scope and Methodology of the Audit

The Performance Audit would cover all the four regions viz. Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam comprising thirteen fire stations4. Audit would scrutinise records at Secretariat, Divisional Fire Office, Additional Divisional Fire Offices and fire stations. Performance Audit would also cover Puducherry Planning Authority to scrutinise records on building approvals issued, cover Law Department on approval of Draft Fire Force Bill, Industries Department on issue of permission for starting of industries, Disaster Management Authority and Home Department to see the adequacy of preparedness to combat natural calamities and any other department found associated with rendering Fire Services in the UTP, during the course of Audit. The performance audit will cover the period of five years from 2013-14 to 2017-18.

2. Audit Objectives

The broad audit objectives are to assess the Economy in utilisation of funds and effectiveness in usage of infrastructure/manpower and efficiency of fire service department in delivery of services with reference to relevant Acts and Rules. In addition, the specific audit objectives include ensuring availability of internal control and effectiveness of monitoring mechanism.

The objectives of the Performance Audit are to assess whether

1. The Fire Services are delivered with prescribed mandate?

2. Funds required for fire prevention and fire services were provided adequately and on time?

3. Infrastructure both Physical and Human was available for rendering fire and emergency services?

4. Inspections and monitoring ensures that fire services were provided within response time?

4 Puducherry, Dhanvantri Nagar, Villianur, Bahour, Maducarai, Thirukkannur, Kalapet, Thirubhuvani and Sedarapet (in Puducherry region), Karaikal and Surakudy (in Karaikal region), Mahe and Yanam

3. Audit Design Matrix

The Audit Design Matrix indicating the Audit Objective/Sub Objectives, Audit Questions, Audit Criteria, Evidence, Data Collection and method of analysis are given in the Annexure overleaf. It highlights the data collection and analysis method as well as the type and source of evidence required to support audit opinion/ findings with reference to the defined audit objectives. The Audit Design Matrix is to be considered throughout planning, examination and reporting phases to ensure that all identified audit issues are covered.

4. Audit Criteria

Audit findings are to be benchmarked against the criteria sourced from the following:

i. Compendium of Recommendations of “The Standing Fire Advisory Committee/Council (SFAC)”

ii. Tamil Nadu Fire Service Manual

iii. Part IV of National Building Code of India – Fire and Life safety

iv. Recruitment Rules for various posts

v. Study report on “Fire Hazard and Risk Analysis in Country for Revamping the Fire Services in the Country” done by Risk Modelling and Insurance (RMSI) on behalf Ministry of Home affairs, GOI.

vi. National Disaster Management Guidelines, 2012.

vii. The Puducherry Municipalities Act, 1973 and the Puducherry Village and Commune Panchayats Act 1973. viii. General Financial Rules and other Government orders/circulars.

6. Audit Procedure

a) Entry and Exit conference: Entry and exit conferences will be held with the Secretary to Government (Fire Service) with proper documentation of the minutes of meetings. b) Draft Report: The Factual Notes/ draft reports should be based on the results of the issues given in the Audit Design Matrix and conclusion must be drawn applying overall judgment on the complete set of tests carried out against all lowest level questions to each audit objective.

12 c) Documentation and Reporting: The Factual Note / Draft report should be forwarded to the Secretary to Government (Fire Service). d) Audit Evidence: The factual note /draft audit report will be clearly referenced and linked with the copies of actual evidence/Key documents.

7. Time schedule

Considering the due date of sending Draft Report to Headquarters, the following timeframe has been proposed by the audit party

March 2018 Understanding the functioning of entity, Planning and Entry conference.

April 2018 to June 2018 Scrutiny of files and records, visits to field offices, data compilation, evidence gathering, audit response and data analysis

Second week of May 2018 Midterm appraisal with Principal Accountant General(G&SSA)

31 July 2018 Formation of audit conclusion, drafting of the Performance Audit Report, Issue of Factual Note and exit conference

29 September 2018 Issue of Draft para to Government/ Scheduled date for sending draft report to Hqrs.

Principal Accountant General