70 years on,time for a smooth ‘lift-off’ in city

The reason why there are just two inspectors at present is because the Labour department follows the archaic Bombay Lift Act,1939. This Act did not foresee the exponential growth of lifts and hence did not feel the need to recruit more lift inspectors for their maintenance.

Worse still,the Lift Act does not have any provision for the upkeep of escalators and conveyor pathways. “These concepts did not exist in 1939,so we have no formal laws and guidelines for them,” said a senior official from the Labour department.

In an attempt to replace the old Act,the department is now in the process of drafting a new law for the Capital called the Delhi Lift Act,which will have specific guidelines for both elevators and escalators and will also form a select panel of experts to carry out lift and escalator inspections.

Chief Secretary Rakesh Mehta said: “The future of the city’s buildings is going vertical and lifts already have become an integral part of all commercial and residential buildings. We have initiated a process of increasing the number of lift inspectors.”

The department is looking at creating 36 positions for this panel that will also give permissions for installing lifts. “People will have to register themselves online and our panel of experts will issue permissions to install and operate these lifts,” a department official said.

Labour department officials added the yearly inspections will now be carried out by select engineers and experts empanelled by the government. “Instead of having our staff inspecting lifts,we are planning to recruit engineers who could be recommended by manufacturers and government set-ups,” the official said. He added the government has already empanelled four lift engineers from the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation,after the Lieutenant Governor gave his approval.

As per the draft Act – which will be a comprehensive law on the installation and upkeep of lifts,escalators and conveyor pathways — the onus of safety will be strictly on the manufacturer,the owners and the firms in-charge of servicing these lifts. “Under the present Act,victims of accidents run to consumer courts to claim compensation. There is no definitive stand on the owner’s responsibility. We are increasing the fines and are making third party insurance mandatory which will protect the interests of accident victims,” the official explained.

The fines for violation in maintenance have been increased from Rs 500 to Rs 50,000,for the owner and the firm in-charge of servicing the lift,officials added.

The lift Act
* Incorporating provisions for maintenance of escalators and conveyor pathways — not taken care of in the Bombay Lift Act,1939
* Setting up a panel of experienced electrical engineers equipped with technical know-how to manage lifts,escalators and conveyor pathways
* Onus of safety to be on the manufacturer,owner and firm in-charge of servicing the facilities. Fines increased up to Rs 50,000
* It will be mandatory for lift owners to install power back-up services and automatic rescue devices to revive services in case of a technical snag
* Lift owners will be able to directly apply online for permission to install facilities