India’s fire safety problem: how urban fire tragedies are driving demands for more effective building safety enforcement
Another spate of fatal fires in unsafe urban buildings has again highlighted failures by India’s authorities to clamp down on illegally constructed commercial buildings. However, commentators say a recent Supreme Court warning that local authority officials may be held personally liable for failing to close unsafe establishments offers hope that more effective enforcement will drive down the number of devastating blazes
By Orchie Bandyopadhyay on 14 August 2026
