Fake fire NOCs: Board stalls, proof doesn’t
Reported allegations say junior colleges used fake fire-safety certificates to get affiliation. The rule is clear; the paperwork isn’t. Students need clarity, not rumours.
The Board is reported to be holding affiliations pending while documents remain unpublished.
News | Education
A report overnight says 52 of 142 junior colleges in Greater Hyderabad allegedly filed fake fire NOCs with the Telangana Board of Intermediate Education, citing HYDRA as the source — but without publishing HYDRA’s list, the NOCs, or the college names. The Board is said to be holding these affiliations pending and letting colleges submit original NOCs before recognition. That’s the claim; no Board order is in the open record yet. (Source: the report.)
Two things are not in dispute. One, the rule. The Telangana High Court in 2021 upheld the requirement for relevant junior-college buildings to have a fire NOC and backed the Board’s power to refuse affiliation if it isn’t produced. Two, the background. Last December’s reporting recorded the Board blocking applications from colleges running out of residential or commercial premises without fire clearance, and allowing shifts or fresh compliance.
What is disputed is the scale and specifics. A 15 July report put the alleged fake-NOC count at “100+” across Hyderabad and Rangareddy, out of roughly 250 permissions — a different denominator from last night’s 52-of-142 Greater Hyderabad claim. Neither piece carries HYDRA’s inspection report, the verification trail with Fire Services, or a government inquiry order. Teachers’ and student groups have demanded blacklisting, cancellations and criminal cases; those are demands, not findings.
So what should happen now? Publish the documents. HYDRA’s inspection list, sample NOCs checked against Fire Services records, the names of the scrutinised colleges, and the Board’s written basis for keeping affiliations “pending” instead of rejecting applications that relied on false paperwork. If students are already admitted, state the protection for their exams. If an inquiry is on, table the order.
This is the part where national parties usually discover “federalism” as a prop. The BJP’s Centre has had no trouble parachuting diktats into state education when it suits the headline; the Congress here has discovered the joys of opacity exactly when parents want clarity. Telangana cleaned up unsafe junior-college buildings once already under court-tested rules. It can do it again — but it has to show its work, not ask students to trust a rumour mill.