Ramp facilities in buildings be made, says TN Govt

Tamil Nadu government today told the Madras High Court that in buildings which have at least come up post 2009 and post the regulations, whether teaching cum hospitals or only hospitals must have ramp facility and necessary changes would be made in regulations accordingly.
A submission is this regard was recorded by the First Bench Comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice MM Sundresh while hearing a PIL by social activist Jawaharlal Shanmugam seeking a direction to the authorities to initiate action for providing ramps and fire compliance certificates on the high rise buildings including Hospitals and Educational Institutions which do not have minimum standard requirements.

In order to work out a comprehensive viable proposal including the necessary changes which have to be made, it would be appropriate if the representatives of the MCI, CMDA, Health Department and the Fire and Rescue Service Dept and Chief Commissioner of Persons with Disabilities would sit together and apply their mind together, the bench said.
The responsibility of holding such a meeting would be with the Principal Secretary, Health Department, the bench said.
An affidavit would be filed in pursuance to the meeting of specifying what changes have to be made, the court said.
The petitioner while referring to the incident of fire accidents that took place in a private hospital at Kokatta in which 85 patients and 4 staff members died and to major fire accidents in Chennai submitted that in major hospitals many inflammable articles are present in wards, laboratories, intensive care wards, operation theatres and in case of fire accident these inflammable articles would accelerate the spread over areas.

Stating that the absence of a ramp facility from the top most floors to the basement in a multi storied hospitals building, evacuation and shifting of very sick patients during the time of emergency would be a near impossible task, the petitioner sought the court to direct all the concerned authorities to provide ramp facility as a mandatory rule from the top most floor to ground floor for easy evacuation of the patients.
The Counsel for MCI further submitted that it had provided in the regulations for a ramp in teaching-cum hospital institutions.
The bench granted one month's time for carrying out such provisions and posted the matter for further hearing to Apri 21.