NOIDA: Nearly two months after UP govt brought in a new legislation, none of the nearly 80,000 lifts in over 350 high-rise buildings in the city, which has seen a series of elevator mishaps this year, has been registered.
The UP Lift and Escalator Rules, 2024, was passed by the state legislature in Feb to regulate the installation, maintenance and safe operation of lifts and escalators across the state, especially Noida, a bustling hub of high-rise buildings where elevators are a crucial part of daily life for thousands of residents.
A govt order issued on Sept 25, directed district administrations under Meerut division, which includes Noida and Ghaziabad, to set up five-member committees that would investigate lift-related accidents and prepare reports on their maintenance, safety, and operation under the new Act.
Subsequently, Noida administration issued a directive on Oct 29 that made it mandatory for building owners and RWAs to register all lifts on their society’s premises within six months.
On Thursday, DM Manish Verma announced that Sept 25, the date of UP govt’s notification, marked the beginning of the six-month period for lift registration compliance.
“It has been two months since the implementation of the Act, but no registrations have been done so far under the lift Act. The process needs to be expedited and communicated effectively to AOAs, and their cooperation is required for the same,” he said.
Verma said owners, who fail to comply with the norms, will be issued notices first and then fined up to Rs 10,000. After a 30-day grace period, lift services will be suspended until fine is paid and registration process is completed.
RWAs and AOA members, however, told TOI the administration had not specified the last date of registration earlier. This, they said, created confusion as most residential societies were waiting to be informed by the administration to start registrations. On Thursday, residents also met the DM and ADM at the Surajpur collectorate office in the matter.
“AOAs were not effectively communicated that the registrations have begun and how and where to get the lifts registered. Hence, some representatives decided to meet the DM and ADM (finance) on Thursday to get clarity on the matter. During the meeting, we were apprised that the registrations have to be done at the ADM (finance) office and that detailed instructions will be shared shortly,” Noida Federation of Apartment Owners’ Association (NOFAA) president Rajiva Singh said.
Additional DM (finance and revenue) Atul Kumar said a meeting would now be convened next week with all stakeholders — AOAs, RWAs and lift companies — where details, specifying the date of registrations, will be spelt out.
AOA representatives have also flagged concerns over the maintenance fees charged by lift manufacturers, and these are also likely to be discussed at the upcoming meeting.
Earlier, TOI reported that residents raised questions about a provision in UP Lift and Escalator Act that mandates only lift manufacturers to maintain and repair the machines, saying it would lead to monopoly and runaway rates.
At least six lift-related mishaps were reported in Noida this year, the latest on Oct 11 when nine people were stuck in an elevator at Amrapali Golf Homes in Greater Noida for nearly 30 minutes. This came just a day after a 58-year-old man escaped without injuries after a lift at Supertech Ecovillage-3 malfunctioned and had a freefall from the sixth floor to the first. Earlier on May 13, the brakes of a lift in Tower 25 of Paras Tierea Society in Sector 137 malfunctioned, causing it to ascend rapidly and crash through the roof of the building’s top floor. The passengers were evacuated safely.
On Aug 3, a lift in Elite Golf Green Society in Sector 79 stopped abruptly, trapping a girl inside. It took the society’s maintenance team about 20 minutes to respond and rescue her. In the same month (Aug 12), a minor boy was trapped for an hour after a lift in Saviour GreenArch in Greater Noida West malfunctioned.
These were just accidents reported in Noida. In Ghaziabad, six were injured following a snag in a lift at Indirapuram’s Shipra Krishna Vista on June 28. Three kids were also stuck inside a lift at Dronagiri Apartments in Vasundhara, for nearly 45 minutes, on April 1.
