Benchmarking Existing Fire Safety Norms for Urban Villages in Noida with Best Practices

The formation of urban villages is an integral phenomenon of growing cities in India. Such villages become extremely important in the perspective of urban areas as they offer an affordable solution to the needs of many city dwellers. However, it is a hard reality that urban villages lack the availability of services and infrastructure essential to offer a safe living environment to the inhabitants which leaves them at a high-risk level. Fire is recognized as one of the most fundamental services under the 12th schedule of the constitution of India. Fire prevention and firefighting are the subject matter of states and union territories and urban local bodies. Studies have shown that there is a strong disconnect between the policies formed at National, regional & local levels that leaves urban villages at their fate without giving much recognition in planning. The study region, Noida came into existence when the need to develop planned urban centers in proximity to Delhi was realized and hence a lot of villages were engulfed in the development and got converted to urban villages. The development norms applicable in Noida do not highlight the holistic development and planning strategies required for the safety of urban villages. This study presents a benchmarking of policies and norms in Noida, India (southeast Asia) with the case studies identified to understand the key indicators of improvement in existing policies. This study will help the policymakers, planners, and building authorities to position the existing norms with international standards.